Perci Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan's Curse
by BAhorses0805
Summary: Fourteen-year-old daughter of Poseidon, Perci Jackson, must embark on another quest to save the goddess of the moon with her friends and Artemis's lieutenant to find her, and Anthony Chase, before the winter solstice. Along the way, she'll learn who these di Angelo kids really are, prepare to fight the dangerous General, her flaws, and protect her loved ones. Book by Rick Riordan.
1. My Rescue Operation Goes Very Wrong

**Chapter 1**

My Rescue Operation Goes Very Wrong

The Friday before winter break, my mom packed me an overnight bag and a few deadly weapons and took me and Thalia to a new boarding school. We picked up my friend Anthony on the way.

It was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. I haven't seen Anthony in months, but between the blizzard and the thought of what we were about to do, we were too nervous to talk much. Except for my mom. She talks _more_ when she's nervous. By the time we finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, and she'd told Anthony and Thalia every embarrassing baby story there was to tell about me.

Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun."

Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit Windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" my mother asked.

"No, thanks, Mom," I said. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay."

"But how will you get back? I'm worried, Perci."

I hoped I wasn't blushing. It was bad enough I had to depend on my mom to drive me to my battles.

"It's okay, Ms. Jackson." Anthony grinned reassuringly. He has gotten a haircut, so his long bangs were now shorter and stood up like a hot surfer's, tucked into a ski cap and his gray eyes were the same color as the ocean. "We'll keep her out of trouble."

My mom seemed to relax a little. She thinks Anthony is the most levelheaded, matured demigod ever to hit eighth grade. She's sure Anthony often keeps me from getting killed. She's right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

"Alright, dears," my mother said. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride."

"Extra sweaters? You have my cellphone number?"

"Mom-"

"Your ambrosia and nectar, Perci? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"

"Mom, seriously! We'll be fine. Come on, guys."

She looked a little hurt, and I was sorry about that, but I was ready to be out of that car. If my mom told one more story about how cute I looked in the bathtub when I was three years old, I was going to burrow into the snow and freeze myself to death.

Anthony and Thalia followed me outside. The wind blew straight through my coat like ice daggers.

Once my mother's car was out of sight, Thalia said, "Your mom is so cool, Perci. And thanks for letting me stay with two."

"She's pretty okay," I admitted. "What about you? Don't you ever get in touch with your mom?"

As soon as I said it, I wished I hadn't. Thalia was great at giving evil looks, what with the punk clothes she always wears-the ripped-up jacket, black leather pants and chain jewelry, the black eyeliner and those intense blue eyes. But the look she gave me now was a perfect evil "ten." "If that was any of your business, Perci-"

"We'd better get inside," Anthony interrupted. "Gretel will be waiting."

Thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "You're right. I wonder what she found here that made her send the distress call."

I stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall. "Nothing good," I guessed.

* * *

The oak doors groaned open, and the three of us stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.

All I could say was, "Whoa."

The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. I mean, I knew Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. Literally.

My hand went to my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide. I could already sense something wrong in this place. Something dangerous. Thalia was rubbing his silver bracelet, her favorite magic item. I knew we were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming.

Anthony started to say, "I wonder where-"

The doors slammed shut behind us.

"Oo-kay," I mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile."

I could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music.

We stashed our overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. We hadn't gone very far when I heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept us.

They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backwards to me. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks typed to their spines.

"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Um…" I realized I hadn't planned for this. I'd been so focused on getting to Gretel and finding out what was wrong, I hadn't considered that someone might question three kids sneaking into the school at night. We hadn't talked at all in the car about how we would get inside. I said, "Ma'am, we're just-"

"Ha!" the man snapped, which made me jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be _eee-jected_!"

He had an accent-French, maybe. He pronounced his _J_ like in _Jacques_. He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colors-one brown, one blue-like an alley cat's.

I figured he was about to toss us into the snow, but then Thalia stepped forward and did something very weird.

She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt a gust of wind ripple out from her hand, across the room. It washed over all of us, making the banners rustle on the walls.

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Anthony and Perci. We're in the eighth grade."

The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. I didn't know what Thalia was thinking. Now we'd probably get punished for lying _and_ thrown into the snow. But the man seemed to be hesitating.

He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"

Despite the danger we were in, I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. A teacher named _Got Chalk_? He had to be kidding.

The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I...yes, I believe I do, sir." She frowned at us. "Anthony. Thalia. Perci. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

Before we could answer, I heard more footsteps, and Gretel ran up, breathless. "You made it! You-"

She stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh-"

"What _is_ it, Ms. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Gretel. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."

Gretel swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made...the punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"

Dr. Thorn glared at us. I decided one of his eyes had to be fake. The brown one? The blue one? He looked like he wanted to pinch us off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"

We didn't have to be told twice. We left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do.

Gretel hustled us down the hall in the direction of the music

I could feel the teachers' eyes on my back, but I walked closely to Thalia and asked in a low voice, "How did you do that finger-snap thing?"

"You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?"

An uncomfortable lump formed in my throat. Chiron was our head trainer at camp, but he'd never shown me anything like that. Why had he shown Thalia and not me?

Gretel hurried us to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with my dyslexia, I could read that much.

"That was close!" Gretel said. "Thank the gods you got here!"

Anthony and Gretel gave each other a fist-pump. Thalia and I both gave her a hug and then I high-fived with her.

It was good to see her after so many months. She'd gotten a little taller and her hair looked more longer, and with a small ponytail on the back of her hair, but otherwise she looked like she always did when she passed for human-her amber hair with a few green streaks, like she dyed her hair, skinny jeans and sneakers to hide her soil-producing feet. She was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. I wasn't sure whether that was, like, Gretel's rank or maybe just the school motto, and had her green whip strapped around her waist.

"So what's the emergency?" I asked.

Gretel took a deep breath. "I found two."

"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"

Gretel nodded.

Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs and Gretel on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high-school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. We needed all the new fighters we could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.

"A brother and a sister, biologically related," she said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."

"Monsters?"

"One." Gretel looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't know think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"

Gretel looked at Thalia desperately. I tried not to feel upset by that. Used to be, Gretel looked to me for answers, but Thalia had seniority. Not just because her dad was Zeus, Thalia had more experience than any of us with fending off monsters in the real world.

"Right," she said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"

Gretel nodded.

"Then let's dance," Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"

"Oh," Gretel said, looking around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn."

* * *

Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. I guess it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something.

There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each other's faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices, and trust me, I would be caught dead wearing shoes like that (kind of literally). Every once in awhile they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. Some of the older guys and girls looked more like me-uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they. Might have to fight for their lives. Of course, in my case, it was true…

"There they. Are," Gretel nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo."

The girl wore a flappy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

Anthony said, "Do they...I mean, have you told them?"

Gretel shook her head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

She looked at me, and I nodded. I'd never really understood what half-blood's "smell" like to monsters and satyrs or even nymphs, but I knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you become, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch.

"So let's grab them and get out of here," I said.

I started forward, but Thalia put her hand on my shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow.

Judging from his expression, I guessed Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's trick with the Mist after all. He suspected who we were. He was just waiting to see why we were here.

"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."

"How?"

"We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."

"Dancing?" Anthony asked.

Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"

Gretel looked hurt. "I did."

"Oh my gods, Gretel. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"

"Green who?"

"Never mind. Come on."

Gretel yelped as Thalia grabbed her hand and led her onto the dance floor.

Anthony smiled.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia's back."

Anthony had grown taller than me since last summer. He still wore his Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, and his new hair-style really looked more like...him: strong and smart. But it also made him look older.

"So…" I tried to think of something to say. _Act natural_. Thalia had told us. When you're a half-blood on a dangerous mission, what the heck is natural? "Um, design any good buildings lately?"

Anthony's eyes lit up, the way they always did when he talked about architecture. "Oh my gods, Perci. At my new school, I get to take 3-D design as an elective, and there's this cool computer program…"

He went on to explain how he'd designed this huge monument that he wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. He talked about structural supports and facades and stuff, and I tried to listen. I knew he wanted to be a super architect when he grew up-he loves math and historical buildings and all that-but I hardly understood a word he was saying.

The truth was I was kind of disappointed to hear that he liked his new school so much. It was the first time he'd gone to school in New York. I'd been hoping to see him more often. He was going to a boarding school somewhere outside New York City and Thalia and I were attending a boarding school in Brooklyn, close enough to Camp Half-Blood that Chiron could help if we got in any trouble. Because it was an all-girls school, and he was all the way in Virginia, I hardly ever saw him with only Thalia for company.

Of course, my mother happily took Thalia in as she got her well treated, which she once told she has never felt like she was home. We have this sort of hate-love relationship, like most sisters do, but she still see each other as friends, even if I sometimes douse her with water for calling me "Salt-for-Brains" and she sometimes shocked me when I called her "Hurricane Thalia". I could see how our relationship reflects our fathers really. At school, I had to tell everyone that Thalia and I are cousins, which was technically true.

"Yeah, uh, cool," I said. "So you're staying the rest of the year, huh?"

His face got dark. "Well, maybe, if I don't-"

"Hey!" Thalia called to us. She was slow dancing with Gretel, which made me want to laugh a little, and she looked like she wanted to die of embarrassment.

"Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."

I looked nervously at Anthony, then he looked at the group of girls who were roaming the gym.

"Well?" I asked.

"Um…" Anthony rubbed his hands nervously. "Who should I ask?"

I scoffed as I punched him in the gut. " _Me_ , Owl-Head." For once, I understood what Thalia was telling us.

So we went onto the dance floor, and I looked over to see how Thalia and Gretel were doing things Anthony put hand on my hips and he clasped my other hand like he was about to judo throw me. And I could be seeing things, but he looked like he was blushing.

"I'm not going to bite," I told him. "Honestly, Anthony. Don't you guys have dances at your school?"

He didn't answer. The truth for me was that _I_ did, but I never, like, actually _danced_ at one. I was usually one of the girls playing basketball in the corner, and I guess we were both on the same boat.

We shuffled around for a few minutes. I tried to concentrate on little things, like the crepe-paper streamers and the punch bowl-my hands were sweaty and probably gross, and Anthony kept stepping on my toes.

"What were you saying earlier?" I asked. "Are you having trouble at school or something?"

He pursed his lips. "It's not that. It's my dad."

"Uh-oh," I knew Anthony had a rocky relationship with his father. "I thought it was getting better with you two. Is it your stepmom again?"

Anthony sighed. "He decided to move. Just when I was getting settled in New York, he took this stupid new job researching for a World War I book. In _San Francisco_."

He said this the same way he might say _Fields of Punishment_ or _Hades's gym shorts_.

"So he wants you to move out there with him?" I asked.

"To the other side of the country," he said miserably. "And half-bloods can't live in San Francisco. He should know that."

"What? Why not?

Anthony rolled his eyes. Maybe he thought I was kidding. "You know. It's right _there_."

"Oh," I said. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I didn't want to sound stupid. "So...you'll go back to living at camp or what?"

"It's more serious than that, Perci. I...I probably should tell you something."

Suddenly he froze. "They're gone."

"What?"

I followed his gaze. The bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no longer there. The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.

"We have to get Thalia and Gretel!" Anthony looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"

He ran through the crowd. I was about to follow when a mob of girls got in my way. I maneuvered around them to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment, and by the time I was free, Anthony had disappeared. I turned a fall circle, looking for him or Thalia and Gretel. Instead, I saw something that chilled my blood.

About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards. Then I caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens.

I still couldn't see Anthony, but I knew he'd be heading the other way, looking for Thalia and Gretel.

I almost ran after him, and then I thought, _Wait_.

I remembered what Thalia had said to me in the entry hall, looking at me all puzzled when I asked about the finger-snap trick: _Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?_ I thought about the way Gretel had turned to her, expecting her to save the day.

Not that I resented Thalia. She was cool. It wasn't her fault her dad was Zeus and she got all the attention….Still, I didn't need to run after her to solve every problem. Besides, there wasn't time. The di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time I found my friends. I knew monsters. I could handle this myself.

I took Riptide out of my pocket and ran after Dr. Thorn.

* * *

The door led into a dark hallway. I heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt. I uncapped Riptide.

The pen grew in my hands until I held a bronze Greek sword about three feet long with a leather-bound grip. The blade glowed faintly, casting a golden light on the rows of lockers.

I jogged down the corridor, but when I got to the other end, no one was there. I opened a door and found myself back in the main entry hall. I was completely turned around. I didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room were the di Angelo kids. They stood frozen in horror, staring right at me.

I advanced slowly, lowering the tip of my sword. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear. What was wrong with them? Where was Dr. Thorn? Maybe he'd sensed the presence of Riptide and retreated. Monsters hated celestial bronze weapons.

"My name's Perci," I said, trying to keep my voice level. "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe."

Bianca's eyes widened. Her fists clenched. Only too late did I realize what her look meant. She wasn't afraid of me. She was trying to warn me.

I whirled around and something went _WHIIISH!_ Ain exploded in my shoulder. A force like a huge hand yanked me backward and slammed me to the wall.

I slashed with my sword but there was nothing to hit.

A cold laugh echoed through the hall.

"Yes, Persephone _Jackson_ ," Dr. Thorn said. His accent mangled the _J_ in my last name. "I know who you are."

I tried to free my shoulder. My coat and shirt were pinned to the wall by some kind of spike-a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of my shoulder as it passed through my clothes, and the cut burned. I'd felt something like this before. Poison.

I forced myself to concentrate. I would _not_ pass out.

A dark silhouette now moved toward us. Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light of my sword.

"Thank you for coming out of the gym," he said. "I hate middle school dances."

I tried to swing my sword again, but he was just out of reach.

 _WHIIIISH!_ A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to move. It was as if someone invisible were standing behind him, throwing knives.

Next to me, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself int the stone wall, half an inch from her face.

"All three of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw."


	2. A Vice Principal Gets a Missile Launcher

**Chapter 2**

The Vice Principal Gets a Missile Launcher

I didn't know what kind of monster Dr. Thorn was, but he was fast.

Maybe I could defend myself if I could get my shield activated. All that it would take was a touch of my wristwatch. But defending the di Angelo kids was another matter. I needed help, and there was only one way I could think to get it.

I closed my eyes.

"What are you doing, Jackson?" hissed Dr. Thorn. "Keep moving!"

I opened my eyes and kept shuffling forward. "It's my shoulder," I lied, trying to sound miserable, which wasn't hard. "It burns."

"Bah! My poison causes pain. It will not kill you. Walk!"

Thorn headed us outside, and I tried to concentrate. I pictured Gretel's face. I focused on my feelings of fear and danger. Last summer, Gretel had created an empathy link between us. She'd sent me visions in my dreams to let me know when she was in trouble. As far as I knew, we were still linked, but I'd never tried to contact Gretel before. I didn't even know if it would work while Gretel was awake.

 _Hey, Gretel!_ I thought. _Thorn's kidnapping us! He's a poisonous spike-throwing maniac! Help!_

Thorn marched us into the woods. We took a snowy path dimly lit by old fashioned lamplights. My shoulder ached. The wind blowing through my ripped clothes was so cold that I felt like a Percisicle.

"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "We will summon your ride."

"What ride?" Bianca demanded. "Where are you taking us?"

"Silence, you insufferable girl!"

"Don't talk to my sister that way!" Nico said. His voice quivered, but I was impressed that he had the guts to say anything at all.

Dr. Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn't human. It made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, but I forced myself to keep walking and pretend I was being a good little captive. Meanwhile, I projected my thoughts like crazy-anything to get Gretel's attention: _Gretel! Apples! Vine whip! Get your Earth Day behind out here and bring some heavily armed friends!_

"Halt," Thorn said.

The woods had opened up. We'd reached a cliff overlooking the sea. At least, I _sensed_ the sea was down there, hundreds of feet below. I could hear the waves churning and I could smell the cold salty froth. But all I could see was mist and darkness.

Dr. Thorn pushed us toward the edge. I stumbled, and Bianca caught me.

"Thanks," I murmured.

"What _is_ he?" she whispered. "How do we fight him?"

"I...I'm working on it."

"I'm scared," Nico mumbled. He was fiddling with something-a little metal toy soldier of some kind.

"Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said. "Face me!"

We turned.

Thorn's two-tone eyes glittered hungrily. He pulled something from under his coat. At first I thought it was a switchblade, but it was only a phone. He pressed the side button and said, "The package-it is ready to deliver."

There was a garbled reply, and I realized Thorn was in walkie-talkie mode. This seemed way too modern and creepy-a monster using a mobile phone.

I glanced behind me, wondering how far the drop was.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "By all means, Daughter of Poseidon. _Jump!_ There is the sea. Save yourself."

"What did he call you?" Bianca muttered.

"I'll explain later," I said.

"You do have a plan, right?"

 _Gretel!_ I thought desperately. _Come to me!_

Maybe I could get both the di Angelos to jump with me into the ocean. If we survived the fall, I could use the water to protect us. I'd done things like that before. If my dad was in a good mood, and listening, he might help. Maybe.

"I would kill you before you ever reached the water," Dr. Thorn said, as if reading my thoughts. 'You do not realize who I am, do you?"

A flicker of movement behind him, and another missile whistled so close to me that it nicked my ear. Something had sprung up behind Dr. Thorn-like a catapult, but more flexible...almost like a tail.

"Unfortunately," Thorn said, "you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would already be dead."

"Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I…" Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other."

"Aww," Dr. Thorn said. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new family."

"Luke," I said, gritting my teeth. "You work for Luke."

Dr. Thorn's mouth twisted with distaste when I said the name of my old enemy-a former friend who'd tried to kill me several times. "You have no idea what is happening, Persephone Jackson. I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you."

"The General?" I asked. Then I realized I'd said it with a French accent. "I mean...who's the General?"

Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation."

I turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then I heard the chopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer.

"Where are you taking us?" Nico said.

"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."

"They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and-"

"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if You do not, well...there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."

"The Great what?" I asked. Anything to keep him talking while I tried to figure out a plan.

"The stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, we now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all-the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"

"Okay," Bianca whispered to me. "He's completely nuts."

"We have to jump off the cliff," I told her quietly. "Into the sea."

"Oh, super idea. You're completely nuts, too."

I never got the chance to argue with her, because just then an invisible force slammed into me.

* * *

Looking back on it, Anthony's move was brilliant. Wearing his cap of invisibility, he plowed into the di Angelos and me, knocking us to the ground. For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over our heads. This gave Thalia and Gretel a chance to advance from behind-Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis.

If you've never seen Thalia run into battle, you have never been truly frightened. She uses a huge spear that expands from this collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket, but that's not the scary part. Her shield is modeled after one her dad Zeus uses-also called Aegis-a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon Medusa molded into the bronze, and even though it won't turn you to stone, it's so horrible, most people will panic and run at the sight of it.

Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it.

Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"

I thought Dr. Thorn was a goner. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.

The sound of the helicopter was getting louder behind me, but I didn't dare look.

Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, and this time I could see how he did it. He had a tail-a leathery, scorpion like tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down.

Gretel sprang forward. She put in strapped her vine whip and began snapping it around as golden sparks flared up as snow also sprang around and melted from its heat. She snapped it really fast as Dr. Thorn did a little hot feet dancing and then with one swing, she holds out her free hand and rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him.

Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form-his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.

"A manticore!" Anthony said, now visible. His magical New York Yankees cap had come off when he'd plowed into us.

"Who _are_ your people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is _that_?"

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

I didn't know what he was talking about, but I didn't have time to worry about it. The manticore clawed Gretel's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward us with a snarl.

"Get down!" Anthony pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. At the last second, I remembered my own shield. I hit my wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. The beautiful shield, a gift from my brother, was badly damaged. I wasn't sure it would even stop a second volley.

I heard a _thwack_ and a Yelp, and Gretel landed next to me with a thud.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and for a second, I thought she would run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but what was it doing here? How could mortals be working with a monster? The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

"No!" I ran out to help her. I parried away a spike just before it would've hit her chest. I raised my shield over us, but I knew it wouldn't be enough.

Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes."

We were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. We had no choice.

Then I heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hungering horn blowing in the woods.

* * *

The manicore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.

"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be-"

His sentence was cut short when something shot past me like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.

He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but my eyes must've been playing tricks on me. No one, not even Apollo's kids at camp, could shoot with that much accuracy.

The manicore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. I tried to swipe at him with my sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged my attack and slammed his tail into my shield, knocking me aside.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manicore with determination expressions.

"The Hunters?" Anthony asked.

Next to me, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

I didn't have a chance to ask what she meant.

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with copper colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. "Permission to kill, my lady?"

I couldn't tell who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manicore.

The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct influence! It is against the Ancient Laws."

"Not so," another girl said. This one was a little younger than me, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face was beautiful and her expression was stern and dangerous. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoë, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"

He lunged at Thalia and me, knowing we were weak and dazed.

"No!" Anthony yelled, and he charged at the monster.

"Get back, boy!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"

But Anthony leaped into the monster's back and drove his knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Anthony hung on for dear life.

"Fire!" Zoë ordered.

"No!" I screamed.

But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"

And before anyone could react, the monster, with Anthony still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.

"Anthony!" I yelled.

I started to run after him, but our enemies weren't done with us. There as a _snap-snap-snap_ from the helicopter-the sound of gunfire.

Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter.

"Mortals," she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."

She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust-no, not dust. The black metal dissolved into a flock of birds-ravens, which scattered into the night.

The Hunters advanced on us.

The one called Zoë stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste.

"Zoë Nightshade." Thalia voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."

Zoë scanned the rest of us. "Four half-bloods and a dryad, my lady."

"Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

"Anthony!" I yelled. "You have to let me save him!"

The auburn-haired girl turned toward me. "I'm sorry, Perci Jackson, but your friend is beyond our help."

I tried to struggle to my feet, but a couple of girls held me down.

"You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs, young maiden," the auburn-haired girl said.

"Let me go!" I demanded. "He's my best friend! Who are you?"

Zoë stared at me like I've gone insane.

"I sense no disrespect. She is simply distraught. She does not understand." The auburn-haired girl said to Zoë.

She looked at me, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Hunt."


	3. Bianca di Angelo Makes a Choice

**Chapter 3**

Bianca di Angelo Makes a Choice

After seeing Dr. Thorn turn into a monster and plummet off the edge of a cliff with Anthony, you'd think nothing else could shock me. But when this twelve-year-old girl told me she was the goddess Artemis, I said something real intelligent like, "Um...okay."

I sounded almost as uncomfortable as Gretel. She stuttered, "Uh, hello, Lady Artemis...you look very...healthy and fit today."

"We have other things to worry about." Thalia snapped. "Anthony is gone!"

"Whoa," Bianca di Angelo said. "Hold up. Time out."

Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of us in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who...who are you people?"

Artemis's expression softened. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are _you_? Who are your parents?"

Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis.

"Our parents are dead," Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but…"

She faltered. I guess she could tell from our faces that we didn't believe her.

"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."

"You are a half-blood," Zoë Nightshade said. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned, like she was reading from a really old book. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."

"An Olympian...athlete?"

"No," Zoe said. "One of the gods."

"Cool!" said Nico.

"No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!"

Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for-"

"Nice, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"

As anxious as I felt about Anthony-all I wanted to do was search for him-I couldn't help feeling sorry for the di Angelos. I remembered what it was like for me when I first learned I was a demigoddess.

Thalia must've been feeling something similar, because the anger in her eyes subsided a little bit. "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well...Our lives are dangerous."

"Dangerous," Bianca said, "like the boy who fell."

Thalia turned away, and even I looked pained.

"Do not despair for Anthony, young maiden," the goddess told me. "He was brave to save you, for a boy. If you value him only as a friend, if he can be found, I shall find him."

"Then why won't you let us go look for him?" I asked.

"He is gone. Can't you sense it, Daughter of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."

I still wanted to jump off the cliff and search for him, but I had a feeling that Artemis was right. Anthony was gone. If he'd been down there in the sea, I thought, I'd be able to feel his presence.

"Oo!" Nice raised his hand. "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"

"He was a manticore," Artemis said. "Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they appear."

"Or they'll hunt us," Thalia said.

Bianca di Angelo shivered. "That explains...Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in D.C.?"

"And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I _told_ you that was real."

"That's why Gretel has been watching you," I said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."

"Gretel?" Bianca stared at her. "You're a demigod?"

"Well, a dryad, actually. Trained in woodland and satyr's magic." She rolled up her jacket sleeve and showed her green roots sprouting flowers on her arm. I thought Bianca was going to faint right there.

"Gretel, you're freaking her out." Thalia said.

"Hey, my roots are healthy!"

"Bianca," I said, "we came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

"Camp?" she asked.

"Camp Half-Blood," I said. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like."

"Sweet, let's go!" said Nico.

"Wait." Bianca shook her head. "I don't-"

"There _is_ another option," Zoë said.

"No, there isn't!" Thalia said.

Thalia and Zoë glared at each other. I didn't know what they were talking about, but I could tell there was a bad history between them. For some reason, they seriously hated each other.

"We've burdened these children enough," Artemis announced. "Zoë, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady."

"And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."

"What about me?" Nico asked.

Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Gretel how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Gretel would be happy to entertain you for a while...as a favor to me?"

Gretel made a look of relief, unlike before when she looked nervous when Artemis first showed up here. "Sure, come on, Nico."

Nico and Gretel walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff. Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff. The Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp.

Zoë gave Thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things.

As soon as she was gone, Thalia stamped her foot in frustration. "The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so...Argh!"

"I don't know how to point this out, but I'm kinda with you," I said. "I don't exactly trust-"

"Oh, you're with me?" Thalia turned to me furiously. "What were you thinking back there in the gym, Perci? You'd take on Dr. Thorn all by yourself? You _knew_ he was a monster!"

"Now, wait, I-"

"If we stuck together, we could've taken him without the Hunters getting involved. Anthony might still be here. Did you think of that?"

My jaw clenched. "Yes, I have! But like I knew if the Hunters would show up, and I don't get why you're blaming _that_ on me? You know I'm still new at this whole...half-blood thing, even after two years, and you think I'd know everything that could happen?"

She looked like she was trying to find something harsh to say back, but she looked like I nailed her there. I looked down and saw something navy blue lying in the snow at my feet. Anthony's New York Yankees baseball cap.

Thalia didn't say another word. She wiped a tear from her cheek, turned, and marched off, leaving me alone with a trampled cap in the snow.

* * *

The Hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around on side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They begun circling the camp like guard dogs. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid, but I decided I would stick close to the tents. Falcons watched us from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight, and I got the feeling they were on guard duty, too. Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will. The air was still cold, but the wind died down and the snow stopped falling, so it was almost pleasant sitting by the fire.

Almost...except for the pain in my shoulder and the guilt weighing me down. I couldn't believe Anthony was gone. And as angry as I was at Thalia, I had a sinking feeling that she was right. It _was_ my fault.

What had Anthony wanted to tell me in the gym? _Something serious_ , he'd said. Now I might never find out. I thought about how we'd danced together for half a song, and my heart felt even heavier.

I watched Thalia pacing around in the snow at the edge of camp, walking among the wolves without fear. She stopped and looked back at Westover Hall, which was now completely dark, looming on the hillside beyond the woods. I wondered what she was thinking.

Seven years ago, Thalia had been turned into a pine tree by her father, to prevent her from dying. She'd stood her ground against an army of monsters on top of Half-Blood Hill in order to give her friends Luke and Anthony time to escape. She'd only been back as a human for a few months now, and once in awhile she would stand so motionless you'd think she was still a tree.

Finally, one of the Hunters brought me my backpack. Gretel and Nico came back from their walk, and Gretel helped me fix up my wounded arm.

"It's green!" Nico said with delight.

"Hold still," Gretel told me. "Here, eat some ambrosia while I clean that out."

I winced as she dressed the wound, but the ambrosia square helped. It tasted like homemade brownie, dissolving in my mouth and sending a warm feeling through my whole body. Between that and the magic salve Gretel used, my shoulder felt better within a couple of minutes.

Nico rummaged through his own bag, which the Hunters had apparently packed for him, though how they'd snuck into Westover Hall unseen, I didn't know. Nico laid out a bunch of figurines in the snow-little battle replicas of Greek gods and heroes. I recognized Zeus with a lightning bolt, Ares with a spear, Apollo with his sun chariot.

"Big collection," I said.

Nico grinned. "I've got almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! Well, except for a few really rare ones."

"You've been playing this game a long time?"

"Just this year. Before that…" He knit his eyebrows.

"What?" I asked.

"I forget. That's weird."

He looked unsettled, but it didn't last long. "Hey, can I see that sword you were using?"

I showed him Riptide, and explained how it turned from a pen into a sword just by uncapping it.

"Cool! Does it ever run out of ink?"

"Um, well, I don't actually write with it."

"Are you really the daughter of Poseidon?"

"Well, yeah."

"Can you surf really well, then? Are you a mermaid, because of your blue hair?"

I looked at Gretel, who was trying hard not to laugh.

"Jeez, Nico," I said. "I've never really tried, and no. I'm half-goddess, not half-fish." I stroked at my blue hair streak. "And this is my birthmark."

He went on asking questions. Did I fight a lot with Thalia, since she was the daughter of Zeus? (I didn't answer that one.) If Anthony's mother was Athena, the goddess of wisdom, then why didn't Anthony know better than to fall off a cliff? (I tried not to strangle Nico for asking that one.) Was Anthony my boyfriend? (At that point, I was ready to stick the kid in a meat-flavored sack and throw him to the wolves.)

I figured any second he was going to ask me how many hit points I had, and I'd lose my cool completely, but then Zoë Nightshade came up to us.

"Perci Jackson."

She had dark brown eyes and a slightly upturned nose. With her silver circlet and her proud expression, she looked so much like royalty. She studied me with a calm expression while giving a mutual look towards Gretel, who was trying to be more occupied by Nico's cards.

"Come with me," she said to me. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee."

* * *

Zoë lead me to the last tent, which looked no different from the others, and waved me inside. Bianca di Angelo was seated next to the auburn-haired girl, who I still had trouble thinking of as Artemis.

The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others I didn't recognize. I figured an animal rights activist would've had a heart attack looking at all those rare skins, but maybe since Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, she could replenish whatever she shot. I thought she had another animal pelt lying next to her, and then I realized it was a live deer-a deer with glittering fur and silver horns, its head resting contentedly in Artemis's lap.

"Join us, Perci Jackson," the goddess said.

I sat across from her on the tent floor. The goddess studied me, which made me uncomfortable. She had such old eyes for a young girl.

"Are you surprised by my age, young maiden?" she asked.

"Uh...a little."

"I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."

"Go astray?"

"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves."

"Oh."

Zoë sat down at Artemis's right. She still gave me her calm, yet troubled look like she thought I wouldn't be one of them.

"You must forgive my Hunters if they don't exactly welcome you," Artemis said. "They're just thinking if you should join the hunt along with us, if you seek a boy to smitten with. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. That last one to see this camp…" She looked at Zoë. "Which one was it?"

"That boy in Colorado," Zoë said. "You turned him into a jackalope."

"Ah, yes." Artemis nodded, satisfied. "I enjoy making jackalopes. At any rate, Persephone, I've asked you here so that you might tell me more of the manticore. Bianca has reported some of the...mmm, disturbing things the monster said. But she may not have understood them. I'd like to hear them from you."

And so I told her.

When I was done, Artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her bow. "I feared this was the answer."

Zoë sat forward. "The scent, my lady?"

"Yes."

"What scent?" I asked.

"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis murmured. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten."

She stared at me intently. "We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell us again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said."

"Um, 'I hate middle school dances.'"

"No, no. After that."

"He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to me."

Zoë's face paled. She turned to Artemis and started to say something, but Artemis raised her hand.

"Go on, Perci," the goddess said.

"Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stir Pot-"

"Stirring," Bianca corrected.

"Thanks. And he said, 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all-the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus.'"

The goddess was so still she could've been a statue.

"Maybe he was lying," I said.

Artemis shook her head. "No. Ne was not. I've been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt this monster."

Zoë looked like she was trying very hard not to be afraid, but she nodded. "We will leave right away, my lady."

"No, Zoë. I must do this alone."

"But, Artemis-"

"This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."

"As...as you wish, my lady."

"I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in."

"You know what the monster is?" I asked.

Artemis gripped her bow. "Let us pray I am wrong, young maiden."

"Can goddess pray?" I asked, because I'd never really thought about that.

A flicker of a smile played across Artemis's lips. "Before I go, Perci Jackson, I have a small task for you."

"I hope this doesn't involve me getting turned into a jackalope."

Artemis let out a small laugh. "No, I would never do that to a young maiden. I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return."

" _What?_ " Zoë blurted out. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there-"

"Yes, I know," Artemis said. "But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down."

Zoë muttered something about foolish campers.

"And now there is one last decision to make." Artemis turned to Bianca. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?"

Bianca hesitated. "I'm still thinking about it."

"Wait," I said. "Thinking about what?"

"They...they've invited me to join the Hunt."

"What? But you can't! You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn to survive."

"It is _not_ the only way for a girl," Zoë said.

I couldn't believe I was hearing this. "Bianca, camp is cool! It's got a pegasus stable and a sword-fighting arena and...I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?"

"To begin with," Zoë said, "immortality."

I stared at her, then at Artemis. "She's kidding, right?"

"Zoë rarely kids about anything," Artemis said. "My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they indeed immortal...unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath."

"What oath?" I said.

"To foreswear romantic love forever," Artemis said. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."

"Like you?"

The goddess nodded.

I tried to imagine what she was saying. Being immortal. Hanging out with only middle-school girls forever. I couldn't get my mind around it, even if I admitted I wanted to join the Hunt, but I just...didn't want to. "So you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods-"

"Not just half-bloods," Zoë interrupted. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals-"

"Which are you, then?"

Anger flashed in Zoë eyes. "That is not thy concern, maiden. The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice."

"Bianca, this is crazy," I said. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter."

"Certainly not," Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."

I glanced around the tent in confusion, not knowing about that statement.

"You can see him from time to time," Artemis assured Bianca. "But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us."

"A new family," Bianca repeated dreamily. "Free of responsibility."

"Bianca, you can't do this," I said. "It's nuts."

She looked at Zoë. "Is it worth it?"

Zoë nodded. "It is."

"What do I have to do?"

"Say this," Zoë told her, "'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.'"

"I...I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

"'I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'"

Bianca repeated the lines. "That's it?"

Zoë nodded. "If Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding."

"I accept it," Artemis said.

The flames in the brazier brightened, casting a silver glow over the room. Bianca looked no different, but she took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide. "I feel...stronger."

"Welcome, sister," Zoë said.

"Remember your pledge," Artemis said. "It is now your life."

I couldn't speak. I felt like a trespasser. And a complete failure. I couldn't believe I'd come all this way and suffered so much only to lose Bianca to some eternal girls' club. I never really liked hanging out with mostly girls, except for Gretel, of course.

"Do not despair, Perci Jackson," Artemis said. "You will still get to show the di Angelos your camp. And if Nico so chooses, he can stay there."

"Great," I said, trying not to sound surly. "How are we supposed to get there?"

Artemis closed her eyes. "Dawn is approaching. Zoë, break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother."

Zoë didn't look real happy about this idea, but she nodded and told Bianca to follow her. As she was leaving, Bianca paused in front of me. "I'm sorry, Perci. But I want this. I really, really do."

Then she was gone, and I was left alone with the twelve-year-old goddess.

"So," I said glumly. "We're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?"

Artemis's silver eyes gleamed. "Yes, maiden. You see, Bianca di Angelo is not the only one with an annoying brother. It's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo."


	4. Thalia Torches New England

**Chapter 4**

Thalia Torches New England

Artemis assured us that dawn was coming, but you could've fooled me. It was colder and darker and snowier than ever. Up on the hill, Westover Hall's windows were completely lightless. I wondered if the teachers had even noticed the di Angelos and Dr. Thorn were missing yet. I didn't want to be around when they did. With my luck, the only name Mrs. Gottschalk would remember was "Perci Jackson," and then I'd be the subject of a nationwide manhunt...again.

The Hunters broke camp as quickly as they'd set it up. I stood shivering in the snow (unlike the Hunters, who didn't seem to feel at all uncomfortable), and Artemis stared into the east like she was expecting something. Bianca sat off to one side, talking with Nico. I could tell from his gloomy that she was explaining her decision to join the Hunt. I couldn't help thinking how selfish it was of her, abandoning her brother like that.

Thalia and Gretel came up and huddled around me, anxious to hear what happened in my audience with the goddess.

When I told them, Gretel turned pale. "The last time the Hunters visited camp, it didn't go well."

"How'd they even show up here?" I wondered. "I mean, they just appeared out of nowhere."

Gretel looked down at the snow, like she knew the answer, but she didn't tell me.

"And Bianca _joined_ them," Thalia said, disgusted. "It's all Zoë's fault. That stuck-up, no good-"

"Hey. Let's not get too harsh on the Hunters, okay?" Gretel said. "Okay, so maybe I do have respect for her, but…" She faltered as she stared uneasily at Artemis.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "You nymphs. You're always respectful with Artemis. Don't you get she's not mad at you for-"

"Don't ever talk about that, Thalia! Please!" Gretel sounded like Thalia was very close to a touchy subject she didn't want to tell me about.

She turned to me and noticed I was staring oddly at her, and she only smiled weakly and nervously at me. I decided not to ask.

* * *

Finally the sky began to lighten. Artemis muttered, "About time. He's so-o-o lazy during the winter."

"You're, um, waiting for sunrise?" I asked.

"For my brother, yes."

I didn't want to be rude. I mean, I knew the legends about Apollo-or sometimes Helios-driving a big sun chariot across the sky. But I also knew that the sun was really a star about a zillion miles away. I'd gotten used to some of the Greek myths being true, but still...I didn't see how Apollo could drive the sun.

"It's not exactly as you think," Artemis said, like she was reading my mind.

"Oh, okay." I started to relax. "So, it's not like he'll be pulling up in a-"

There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon. A blast of warmth.

"Don't look," Artemis advised. "Not until he parks."

 _Parks?_

I averted my eyes, and saw that the other kids were doing the same. The light and warmth intensified until my winter coat felt like it was melting off of me. Then suddenly the light died.

I looked. And I couldn't believe it. It was _my_ car. Well, the car I wanted, anyway. A red convertible Maserati Spyder. It was so awesome it glowed. Then I realized it was glowing because the metal was hot. The snow had melted around the Maserati in a perfect circle, which explained why I was now standing on green grass and my shoes were wet.

The driver got out, smiling. He looked about seventeen or eighteen, and for a second, I had an uneasy feeling it was Luke, my old enemy. This guy had the same sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks. But it wasn't Luke. This guy was taller, with no scar on his face like Luke's. His smile was brighter and more playful. (Luke didn't do much more than scowl and sneer these days.) The Maserati driver wore jeans and loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt.

"Wow," Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot."

"He's the sun god," I said.

"That's not what I meant."

"Little sister!" Apollo called. If his teeth were any whiter he could've blinded us without the sun car. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"

Artemis sighed. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your _little_ sister."

"Hey, I was born first."

"We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue-"

"So what's up?" he interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?"

Artemis grit her teeth. "I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, _alone_. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."

"Sure, sis!" Then he raised his hands in a _stop everything_ gesture. "I feel a haiku coming on."

The Hunters all groaned. Apparently they'd met Apollo before.

He cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically.

" _Green grass breaks through snow._

 _Artemis pleads for my help._

 _I am so cool._ "

He grinned at us, waiting for applause.

"That last line was only four syllables," Artemis said.

Apollo frowned. "Was it?"

"Yes. What about _I am so big-headed_?"

"No, no, that's six syllables. Hmm." He started muttering to himself.

Zoë Nightshade turned to us. "Lord Apollo has been going through this haiku phase ever since he visited Japan. 'Tis not as bad as the time he visited Limerick. If I'd had to hear one more poem that started with, _There once was a goddess from Sparta_ -"

"I've got it!" Apollo announced. " _I am so awesome_. That's five syllables!" He bowed, looking very pleased with himself. "And now, sis. Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was about ready to roll."

"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis said, pointing to us. "Some of Chiron's campers."

"No problem!" Apollo checked us out. "Let's see...Thalia, right? I've heard all about you."

Thalia blushed. "Hi, Lord Apollo."

"Zeus's girl, yes? Makes you my half-sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you're back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees. Man, I remember one time-"

"Brother," Artemis said. "You should get going."

"Oh, right." Then he looked at me, and his eyes narrowed. "Perci Jackson?"

"Uh, yes sir."

It seemed weird calling a teenager "sir," but I'd learned to be careful with immortals. They tended to get offended easily. Then they blew stuff up.

Apollo studied me, but he didn't say anything, which I found a little creepy.

"Well!" he said at last. "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way-west. And if you miss it, you miss it."

I looked at the Maserati, which would seat two people max. There were about twenty of us.

"Cool car," Nico said.

"Thanks, kid," Apollo said.

"But how will we all fit?"

"Oh." Apollo seemed to notice the problem for the first time. "Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose…"

He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. _Chirp, chirp_.

For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Maserati had been replaced by one of those Turtle Top shuttle buses like we used for school basketball games.

"Right," he said. "Everybody in."

Zoë ordered the Hunters to start loading. She picked up her camping pack, and Apollo said, "Here, sweetheart. Let me get that."

Zoë recoiled. Her eyes flashed murderously.

"Brother," Artemis chided. "You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do _not_ call them sweetheart."

Apollo spread his hands. "Sorry. I forgot. Hey, sis, where are you off to, anyway?"

"Hunting," Artemis said. "It's none of your business."

"I'll find out. I see all. Know all."

Artemis snorted. "Just drop them off, Apollo. And no messing around."

"No, no! I never mess around."

Artemis rolled her eyes, then looked at us. "I will see you by winter solstice. Zoë, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would do."

Zoë straightened. "Yes, my lady."

Artemis knelt and touched the ground as if looking for tracks. When she rose, she looked troubled. "So much danger. The beast must be found."

She sprinted towards the woods and melted into the snow and shadows.

Apollo turned and grinned, jangling the car keys on his finger. "So," he said. "Who wants to drive?"

* * *

The Hunters piled into the van. They all crammed into the back so they'd be as far away as possible from Apollo. Bianca sat with them, leaving her little brother to hang in the front with us, which seemed cold to me, but Nico didn't seem to mind.

"This is so cool!" Nico said, jumping up and down in the driver's seat. "Is this really the sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"

"Downsizing," Apollo said. "The Romans started it. They couldn't afford all those temple sacrifices, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job descriptions. My sis got the moon. I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, but at least I got this cool car."

"But how does it work?" Nico asked. "I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas!"

Apollo chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair. "That rumor probably got started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. Seriously, kid, it depends on whether you're talking astronomy or philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? Bah, what fun is that? You want to talk about how humans _think_ about the sun? Ah, now that's more interesting. They've got a lot riding on the sun...er, so to speak. It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers engines, makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human _dreams_ about the sun, kid. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives across the sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is a manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?"

Nico shook his head. "No."

"Well then, just think of it as a really powerful, really dangerous solar car."

"Can I drive?"

"No. Too young."

"Oo! Oo!" Gretel raised her hand.

"Mm, no," Apollo said. "Too greeny." He looked past me and focused on Thalia.

"Daughter of Zeus!" he said. "Lord of the Sky. Perfect."

"Oh, no." Thalia shook her head. "No, thanks."

"C'mon," Apollo said. "How old are you?"

Thalia hesitated. "I don't know."

It was sad, but true. She's been turned into a tree when she was twelve, but that had been seven years ago. So she would be nineteen, if you went by years. But she still felt like she was twelve, and if you looked at her, she seemed somewhere in between. The best Chiron could figure, she had kept aging while in tree form, but much more slowly.

Apollo tapped his finger to his lips. "You're fifteen, almost sixteen."

"How do you know that?"

"Hey, I'm the god of prophecy. I know stuff. You'll turn sixteen in about a week."

"That's my birthday! December twenty-second."

"Which means you're old enough now to drive with a learner's permit!"

Thalia shifted her feet nervously. "Uh-"

"I know what you're going to say," Apollo said. "You don't deserve an honor like driving the sun chariot."

"That's not what I was going to say."

"Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and don't worry about what happened to the last kid I trained. You're Zeus's daughter. He's not going to blast _you_ out of the sky."

Apollo laughed good-naturedly. The rest of us didn't join him.

Thalia tried to protest, but Apollo was absolutely not going to take "no" for an answer. He hit a button on the dashboard, and a sign popped up along the top of the windshield. I had to read it backwards (which, for a dyslexic, really isn't that different than reading forward). I was pretty sure it said WARNING: STUDENT DRIVER.

"Take it away!" Apollo told Thalia. "You're gonna be a natural!"

I'll admit I was jealous. I couldn't wait to start driving. A couple of times that fall, my mom had taken me and Thalia out to Montauk when the beach road was empty, and she'd let me and Thalia try out her Mazda. My mom managed to get Thalia a driver's permit, and I was only a year younger than her physically. I mean, yeah, that was a Japanese compact, and this was the sun chariot, but how different could it be?

"Speed equals eat," Apollo advised. "So start slowly, and make sure you've got good altitude before you really open her up."

Thalia gripped the wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. She looked like she was going to be sick.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Nothing," she said shakily. "N-nothing is wrong."

She pulled back on the wheel. It tilted, and the bus lurched upward as fast I fell back and crashed against something soft.

"Ow," Gretel said.

"Sorry."

"Slower!" Apollo said.

"Sorry!" Thalia said. "I've got it under control!"

I managed to get to my feet. Looking out the window, I saw a smoking ring of trees from the clearing where we'd taken off.

"Thalia," I said, "remember what my mom said before: lighten up the accelerator."

"I've _got_ it, Perci," she said, gritting her teeth. But she kept it floored.

"Loosen up," I told her.

"I'm loose!" Thalia said. She was so stiff she looked like she was made out of plywood.

"We need to veer south for Long Island," Apollo said. "Hang a left."

Thalia jerked the wheel and again threw me into Gretel, who yelped.

"The other left," Apollo suggested.

I made the mistake of looking out the window again. We were at airplane height now-so high the sky was starting to look black.

"Ah…" Apollo said, and I got the feeling he was forcing himself to sound calm. "A little lower, sweetheart. Cape Cod is freezing over."

Thalia tilted the wheel. Her face was chalk white, her forehead beaded with sweat. Something was definitely wrong. I'd never seen her like this.

The bus pitched down and somebody screamed. Maybe it was me. Now we were heading straight toward the Atlantic Ocean at a thousand miles an hour, the New England coastline off to our right. And it was getting hot in the bus.

Apollo had been thrown somewhere in the back of the bus, but he started climbing up the rows of seats.

"Take the wheel!" Gretel begged him.

"No worries," Apollo said. He looked plenty worried. "She just has to learn to-WHOA!"

I saw what he was seeing. Down below us was a little snow-covered New England town. At least, it used to be snow-covered. As I watched, the snow melted off the trees and the roofs and the lawns. The white steeple on a church turned brown and started to smolder. Little plumes of smoke, like birthday candles, were popping up all over the town. Trees and rooftops were catching fire.

"Oh my gods! Pull up!" I yelled.

There was a wild light in Thalia's eyes. She yanked back on the wheel, and I held on this time. As we zoomed up, I could see through the back window that the fires in the town were being snuffled out by the sudden blast of cold.

"There!" Apollo pointed. "Long Island, dead ahead. Let's slow down, dear. 'Dead' is only an expression."

Thalia was thundering toward the coastline of northern Long Island. There was Camp Half-Blood: the valley, the woods, the beach. I could see the dining pavilion and cabins and the amphitheater.

Gretel and I hugged each other, bracing ourselves for the worst. "Why couldn't I be one of the wind nymphs?" She asked nervously, mostly to herself.

"I'm under control," Thalia muttered. "I'm under control."

We were only a few hundred yards away now.

"Brake," Apollo said.

"I can do this."

"BRAKE!"  
Thalia slammed her foot on the brake, and the sun bus pitched forward at a forty-five-degree angle, slamming into the Camp Half-Blood canoe lake with a huge _FLOOOOOOSH!_ Steam billowed up, sending several frightened naiads scrambling out of the water with half-woven wicker baskets.

The bus bobbed to the surface, along with a couple of capsized, half-melted canoes. Gretel and I were breathing heavily as we held onto each other tightly from our little experience.

"Well," said Apollo with a brave smile. "You were right, my dear. You had everything under control! Let's go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?"


	5. I Place an Underwater Phone Call

**Chapter 5**

I Place an Underwater Phone Call

I'd never seen Camp Half-Blood in winter before, and the snow surprised me.

See, the camp has the ultimate magic climate control. Nothing gets inside the borders unless the director, Mr. D, wants it to. I thought it would be warm and sunny, but instead the snow had been allowed to fall lightly. Frost covered the chariot track and the strawberry fields. The cabins were decorated with tiny lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body. I wondered if the spirit of Delphi was roasting marshmallows up there or something.

"Whoa," Nico said as he climbed off the bus. "Is that a climbing wall?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Why is there lava pouring down it?"

"Little extra challenge. Come on. I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoë, have you met-"

"I know Chiron," Zoë said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me."

"I'm gonna check on my tree," Gretel told me. "If frost got into my trunk, I'll be whipping at a satyr if it was an immature prank. If you need me, don't soak my tree to wake me up, I just got it refurbished."

I giggled a little.

"And I'd love to see you do that." Zoë said.

Gretel gave me a small hug and she walked off to her tree in the woods. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins. As Bianca di Angelo was leaving, she leaned over and whispered something in her brother's ear. She looked at him for an answer, but Nico just scowled and turned away.

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He winked at me. "Watch out for those prophecies, Perci. I'll see you soon."

My smile dropped. "What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, he hopped back in the bus. "Later, Thalia," he called. "And, uh, be good!"

He gave her a wicked smile, as if he knew something she didn't. Then he closed the doors and revved the engine. I turned aside as the sun chariot took off in a blast of heat. When I looked back, the lake was steaming. A red Maserati soared over the woods, glowing brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared in a ray of sunlight.

Nico was still looking grumpy. I wondered what his sister had told him.

"Who's Chiron?" he asked. "I don't have his figurine."

"Our activities director," I said. "He's...well, you'll see."

"If those Hunter girls don't like him," Nico grumbled, "that's good enough for me. Let's go."

* * *

The second thing that surprised me about camp was how empty is was. I mean, I knew most half-bloods only trained during the summer. Just the year-rounders would be here-the ones who didn't have homes to go to, or would get attacked by monsters too much if they left. But there didn't even seem to be many of them, either.

I spotted Charles Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin stoking the forge outside the camp armory. The Stoll brothers, Travis and Conner, from the Hermes cabin, were picking the lock on the camp store. A few kids from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs at the edge of the forest. That was about it. Even my old rival from the Ares cabin, Clarisse, didn't seem to be around.

The Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't seem to catch anything on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like hot chocolate. Mr. D, the camp director, and Chiron were playing a quiet game of cards in the parlor.

Chiron's brown beard was shaggier for the winter. His curly hair had grown a little longer. He wasn't posing as a teacher this year, so I guess he could afford to be casual. He wore a fuzzy sweater with a hoofprint design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost hid his wheelchair completely.

He smiled when he saw us. "Perci! Thalia! Ah, and this must be-"

"Nico di Angelo," I said. "He and his sister are half-bloods."

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then."

"Well…"

His smile melted. "What's wrong? And where is Anthony?"

"Oh, dear," Mr. D said in a bored tone. "Not another one lost."

I'd been trying not to pay attention to Mr. D, but he was kind of hard to ignore in his neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes. (Like Mr. D had ever run a day in his immortal life.) A golden laurel wreath was tilted sideways on his curly black hair, which must've meant he'd won the last hand of cards.

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked. "Who else is lost?"

Just then, I heard a frustrated growl as Gretel stormed into the room, looking all angry like someone offered her flowers, but squashed them at her feet right in front of her. "I swear to those Hunters if they use my tree as target practice any longer, I'm going to strangle them. Maybe you could drown them, Perci?"

I would be tempted, but I would only use my water magic for emergencies, or just for relieving my ADHD.

Chiron frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about." He glanced at Nico. "Gretel, perhaps you should take our young friend to the den and show him our orientation film."

Gretel calmed down a little. "Sure, sir."

"Orientation film?" Nico asked. "Is it G or PG? 'Cause Bianca is kinda strict-"

"It's PG-13," Gretel said.

"Cool!" Nico happily followed her out of the room.

"Now," Chiron said to Thalia and me, "perhaps you ladies should sit down and tell us the whole story."

* * *

When we were done, Chiron turned to Mr. D. "We should launch a search for Anthony immediately."

"I'll go," Thalia and I said at the same time.

Mr. D sniffed. "Certainly not!"

Thalia and I both started complaining, but Mr. D held up his hand. He had that purplish angry fire in his eyes that usually meant something bad and godly was going to happen if we didn't shut up.

"From what you have told me," Mr. D said, "we have broken even on this escapade. We have, ah, regrettably lost Antty Tone-"

"Anthony," I snapped. He'd gone to camp since he was seven, and still Mr. D pretended not to know his name.

"Yes, yes," he said. "And you procured a small annoying boy to replace him. So I see no point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Antty boy is dead."

I wanted to strangle Mr. D. It wasn't fair Zeus had sent him here to dry out as camp director for a hundred years. It was meant to be a punishment for Mr. D's bad behavior on Olympus, but it ended up being a punishment for all of us.

"Anthony may be alive," Chiron said, but I could tell he was having trouble sounding upbeat. He'd practically raised Anthony all those years he was a year-round camper, before he'd given living with his dad and stepmom a second try. "He's very bright. If...if our enemies have him, he will try to play for time. He may even pretend to cooperate."

"That's right," Thalia said. "Luke would want him alive."

"In which case," said Mr. D, "I'm afraid he will have to be smart enough to escape on his own."

I got up from the table.

"Perci," Chiron's tone was full of warning. In the back of my mind, I knew Mr. D was not somebody to mess with. Even if you were an impulsive ADHD kid like me, he wouldn't give you any slack. But I was so angry I didn't care.

"You're glad to lose another camper," I said. You'd like it if we all disappeared!"

Mr. D stifled a yawn. "You have a point?"

"Yeah," I growled. "Just because you were sent here as a punishment doesn't mean you have to be a lazy jerk! This is your civilization, too. Maybe you could try helping out a little!"

For a second, there was no sound except the crackle of the fire. The light reflected in Mr. D's eyes, giving him a sinister looks. He opened his mouth to say something-probably a curse that would blast me to smithereens-when Nico burst into the room, followed by Gretel.

"SO COOL!" Nico yelled, holding his hands out to Chiron. "You're...you're a centaur!"

Chiron managed a nervous smile. "Yes, Mr. di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters."

"And, whoa!" He looked at Mr. D. "You're the wine dude? No way!"

Mr. D turned his eyes away from me and gave Nico a look of loathing. "The wine dude?"

"Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine."

"My figurine."

"In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!"

"Ah," Mr. D seemed truly perplexed, which probably saved my life. "Well, that's...gratifying."

"Perci," Chiron said quickly, "you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening."

"Capture the flag?" I asked. "But we don't have enough-"

"It is a tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit."

"Yeah," Thalia muttered. "I bet it's real friendly."

Chiron jerked his head toward Mr. D, who was still frowning as Nico talked about how many defense points all the gods had in the game. "Run along now," Chiron told us.

"Oh, right," Thalia said. "Come on, Perci."

She hauled me out of the Big House before Dionysus could remember that he wanted to kill me.

* * *

"You've already got Ares on your bad side," Thalia reminded me as we trudged toward the cabins. "You need another immortal enemy?"

She was right. My first summer as a camper, I'd gotten in a fight with Ares, and now he and all his children wanted to kill me. I didn't need to make Dionysus mad, too.

"Sorry," I said. "I couldn't help it. It's just so unfair."

She stopped by the armory and looked out across the valley, toward the top of Half-Blood Hill. Her pine tree was still there, the Golden Fleece glittering in its lower branch. The tree's magic still protected the borders of camp, but it no longer used Thalia's spirit for power.

"Perci, everything is unfair," Thalia muttered. "Sometimes I wish…"

She didn't finish, but her tone was so sad I felt sorry for her. With her ragged black hair and her black punk clothes, an old wool overcoat wrapped around her, she looked like some kind of huge raven, completely out of place in the white landscape.

"We'll get Anthony back," I promised. "I just don't know how yet."

"First I found out that Luke is lost," she said. "Now Anthony-"

"Don't think like that."

"You're right." She straighten up. "We'll find a way."

Over at the basketball court, a few of the Hunters were shooting hoops. One of them was arguing with a guy from the Ares cabin. The Ares kids had his hand on his sword and the Hunter girl looked like she was going to exchange her basketball for a bow and arrow any second.

"I'll break that up," Thalia said. "You circulate around the cabins. Tell everybody about capture the flag tomorrow."

"All right. You should be team captain."

"No, no," she said. "You've been at camp longer. You do it."

"We can, uh...co-captain or something."

She looked about as comfortable with that as I felt, but she nodded.

As she headed for the court, I said, "Hey, Thalia."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about what happened at Westover. I should've waited for you guys."

"'S okay, Perci. I probably would've done the same thing. "She shifted from foot to foot, like she was trying to decide whether or not to say more. "You know, you asked about my mom and I kinda snapped at you, not to mention I ever mentioned her when you and your mother took me in. It's just...remember that time when I wanted your mother to take us to Los Angeles?"

I remember that, but going back there brought back painful memories, but we went there briefly anyway, after our school got a gasoline incident.

"Yeah." I said.

"Well...it's just...I wanted to go back and find her after seven years, and I found out she died. She, um...she was a heavy drinker, and apparently she was out driving late one night about two years ago, and…" Thalia blinked hard.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well. It's...it's not like we were ever close. I ran away when I was ten. Best two years of my life were when I was running around with Luke and Anthony. But still-"

"Was that why you were having trouble with the sun van?"

She gave me a wary look. "What do you mean?"

"The way you stiffened up. You must've been thinking about your mom, not wanting to get behind the wheel?"

I was sorry I'd said anything. Thalia's expression was dangerously close to Zeus's, the one time I'd seen him get angry-like any minute, her eyes would shoot a million volts.

"Yeah," she muttered. "Yeah, that must've been it."

She trudged off toward the court, where the Ares camper and the Hunter were trying to kill each other with a sword and a basketball.

* * *

The cabins were the weirdest collection of buildings you've ever seen. Zeus and Hera's big white-columned buildings, Cabins One and Two, stood in the middle, with five gods' cabins on the left and five goddesses' cabins on the right, so they all made a U around the central green and the barbecue hearth.

I made the rounds, telling everybody about capture the flag. I woke up some Ares kid from his midday nap and he yelled at me to go away. When I asked him where Clarisse was he said, "Went on a quest for Chiron. Top secret!"

"Is she okay?"

"Haven't heard from her in a month. She's missing in action. Like your butt's gonna be if you don't get outta here!"

I decided to let him go back to sleep.

Finally I got to Cabin Three, the cabin of Poseidon. It was a low gray building hewn from sea stone, with shells and coral fossils imprinted in the rock. Inside, it was just as empty as always, except for my bunk. A Minotaur horn hung on the wall next to my pillow.

I took Anthony's baseball cap out of my backpack and set it on my nightstand. I'd give it to him when I found him. And I _would_ find him.

I took off my wristwatch and activated the shield. It creaked noisily as it spiraled out. Dr. Thorn's spikes had dented the brass in a dozen places. One gash kept the shield from opening all the way, so it looked like a pizza with two slices missing. The beautiful metal pictures that my brother had crafted were all banged up. In the picture of me and Anthony fighting the Hydra, it looked like a meteor had made a crater in my head. I hung the shield on its hook, next to the Minotaur horn, but it was painful to look at now. Maybe Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin could fix it for me. He was the best armorsmith in the camp. I'd ask him at dinner.

I was staring at the shield when I noticed a strange sound-water gurgling-and I realized there was something new in the room. At the back of the cabin was a big basin of gray sea rock, with a spout like the head of a fish carved in stone. Out of its mouth burst a stream of water, a saltwater spring that trickled into the pool. The water must've been hot, because it sent mist into the cold winter air like a sauna. It made the room feel warm and summery, fresh with the smell of the sea.

I stepped up to the pool. There was no note attached or anything, but I knew it could only be a gift from Poseidon.

I looked into the water and said, "Thanks, Dad."

The surface rippled. At the bottom of the pool, coins shimmered-a dozen or so golden drachma. I realized what the fountain was for. It was a reminder to keep in touch with my family.

I opened the nearest window, and the wintry sunlight made a rainbow in the mist. Then I fished a coin out of the hot water.

"Iris, O Goddess of the Rainbow," I said, "accept my offering."

I tossed a coin into the mist and it disappeared. Then I realized I didn't know who to contact first.

My mom? That would've been the "good daughter" thing to do, but she would've be worried about me yet. She was used to me disappearing for days or weeks at a time.

My father? It had been way too long, almost two years, since I'd actually talked to him. But could you even send an Iris-message to a god? I'd never tried. Would it make them mad, like a sales call or something?

I hesitated. Then I made up my mind.

"Show me Tyson," I requested. "At the forges of the Cyclopes."

The mist shimmered, and the image of my half brother appeared. He was surrounded by fire, which would've been a problem if he weren't a Cyclops. He was bent over an anvil, hammering a red-hot sword blade. Sparks flew and flames swirled around his body. There was a marble-framed window behind him, and it looked out onto dark blue water-the bottom of the ocean.

"Tyson!" I yelled.

He didn't hear me at first because of the hammering and the roar of the flames.

"TYSON!"

He turned, and his one enormous eyes widened. His face broke into a crooked yellow grin. "Perci!"

He dropped the sword blade and ran at me, trying to give me a hug. The vision blurred and I instinctively lurched back. "Tyson, it's an Iris-message. I'm not really here."

"Oh." He came back into view, looking embarrassed. "Oh, I knew that. Yes."

"How are you?" I asked. "How's the job?"

His eye lit up. "Love the job! Look!" He picked up the hot sword blade with his bare hands. "I made this!"

"That's really cool."

"I wrote my name on it. Right there."

"Awesome. Listen, do you talk to Dad much?"

Tyson's smile faded. "Not much. Daddy is busy. He is worried about the war."

"What do you mean?"

Tyson sighed, He stuck the sword blade out the window, where it made a cloud of boiling bubbles. When Tyson brought it back in, the metal was cool. "Old sea spirits making trouble. Aigaios. Oceanus. Those guys."

I sort of knew what he was talking about. He means the immortals who ruled the oceans back in the days of the Titans. Before the Olympians took over. The fact that they were back now, with the Titan Lord Kronos and his allies gaining strength, was not good.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked.

Tyson shook his head sadly. "We are arming the mermaids. They need a thousand more swords by tomorrow." He looked at his sword blade and sighed. "Old spirits are protecting the bad boat."

"The _Princess Andromeda_?" I said. "Luke's boat?"

"Yes. They make it hard to find. Protect it from Daddy's storms. Otherwise he would smash it."

"Smashing it would be good."

Tyson perked up, as if he'd just had another thought. "Anthony! Is he there?"

"Oh, well…" My heart felt like a bowling ball. Tyson thought Anthony was just about the coolest thing since peanut butter (and he seriously loved peanut butter). I didn't have the heart to tell him he was missing. He'd start crying so bad he'd probably put out the fires. "Well, no...he's not here right now."

"Tell him hello!" He beamed. "Hello to Anthony!"

"Okay." I fought back a lump in my throat and keeping my eyes from leaking. "I'll do that."

"And, Perci, don't worry about the bad boat. It is going away."

"What do you mean?"

"Panama Canal! Very far away."

I frowned. Why would Luke take his demon-infested cruise ship all the way down there? The last time we'd seen him, he'd been cruising along the East Coast, recruiting half-bloods and training his monstrous army.

"All right," I said, not feeling reassured. "That's...good. I guess."

In the forges, a deep voice bellowed something I could make out. Tyson flinched. "Got to get back to work! Boss will get mad. Good luck, Sister!"

"Okay, tell Dad-"

But before I could finish, the vision shimmered and faded. I was alone again in my cabin, feeling even lonelier than before.

* * *

I was pretty miserable at dinner that night.

I mean, the food was excellent as usual. You can't go wrong with barbecue, pizza, and never-empty soda goblets. The torches and braziers kept the outdoor pavilion warm, but we all had to sit with our cabin mates, which meant I was alone at the Poseidon table. Thalia sat alone at the Zeus table, but we couldn't sit together. Camp rules. At least the Hephaestus, Ares, and Hermes cabins had a few people each. Nico sat with the Stoll brothers, since new campers always got stuck in the Hermes cabin if their Olympian parent was unknown. The Stoll brothers seemed to be trying to convince Nico that poker was a much better game than Mythomagic. I hoped Nico didn't have any money to lose.

The only table that really seemed to be having a good time was the Artemis table. The Hunters drank and ate and laughed like one big happy family. Zoë sat at the head like she was the mama. She didn't laugh as much as the others, but she did smile from time to time. Her silver lieutenant's band glittered in the dark braids of her hair. I thought she looked a lot nicer when she smiled. Bianca di Angelo seemed to be having a great time. She was trying to learn how to arm wrestle from the big girl who'd picked a fight with the Ares kid on the basketball court. The bigger girl was beating her every time, but Bianca didn't seem to mind.

When we'd finished eating, Chiron made the customary toast to the gods and formally welcomed the Hunters of Artemis. The clapping was pretty halfhearted. Then he announced the "good will" capture-the-flag game for tomorrow night, which got a lot better reception.

Afterward, we all trailed back to our cabins for an early, winter lights out. I was exhausted, which meant I fell asleep easily. That was the good part. The bad part was, I had a nightmare, and even by my standards it was a whopper.

* * *

Anthony was on a dark hillside, shrouded in fog. It almost seemed like the Underworld, because I immediately felt claustrophobic and I couldn't see the sky above-just a close, heavy darkness, as if I were in a cave.

Anthony struggled on the hill. Old broken Greek columns of black marble were scattered around, as though something had blasted a huge building to ruins.

"Thorn!" Anthony shouted. "Where are you? Why did you bring me here?" He scrambled over a section of broken wall and came to the crest of the hill.

He gasped.

There was Luke. And he was in pain.

He was crumpled on the rocky ground, trying to rise. The blackness seemed to be thicker around him, fog swirling hungrily. His clothes were in tatters and his face was scratched and drenched with sweat.

"Anthony!" he called. "Help me! Please!"

He ran forward.

I tried to cry out: _He's a traitor! Don't trust him!_

But my voice didn't work in the dream.

Anthony had wild eyes. He reached down like he wanted to touch Luke's hand, but at the last second he hesitated.

"What happened?" he asked.

"They left me here," Luke groaned. "Please. It's killing me."

I couldn't see what was wrong with him. He seemed to be struggling against some invisible curse, as though the fog were squeezing him to death.

"Why should I trust you?" Anthony asked. His voice was filled with distaste.

"You shouldn't," Luke said. "I've been terrible to you. But if you don't help me, I'll die."

 _Let him die_ , I wanted to scream. Luke had tried to kill us in cold blood too many times. He didn't deserve anything from Anthony.

Then the darkness above Luke began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Huge chunks of black rock began falling. Anthony rushed in just as a crack appeared, and the whole ceiling dropped. He held it somehow-tons of rock. He kept it from collapsing on him and Luke just with his own strength. It was impossible. He shouldn't have been able to do that.

Luke rolled free, gasping. "Thanks," he managed.

"Help me hold it," Anthony groaned.

Luke caught his breath. His face was covered in grime and sweat. He rose unsteadily.

"I knew I could count on you." He began to walk away as the trembling blackness threatened to crush Anthony.

"HELP ME!" he pleaded.

"Oh, don't worry," Luke said. "Your help is on the way. It's all part of the plan. In the meantime, try not to die."

The ceiling of darkness began to crumble again, pushing Anthony against the ground.

* * *

I sat bolt upright in bed, clawing at the sheets and my hair a rat's nest. There was no sound in my cabin except the gurgle of the saltwater spring. The clock on my nightstand read just after midnight.

Only a dream, but I was sure of two things: Anthony was in terrible danger. And Luke was responsible.


	6. An Old Dead Friend Comes to Visit

**Chapter 6**

An Old Dead Friend Comes to Visit

The next morning after breakfast, I told Gretel about my dream. We sat in the meadow watching the satyrs chase the wood nymphs through the snow. The nymphs had promised to kiss the satyrs if they got caught, but they hardly ever did. Usually the nymph would let the satyr get up a full head of steam, then she'd turn into a snow-covered tree and the poor satyr would slam into it headfirst and get a pile of snow dumped on him. Gretel once told me she did that to many satyrs and I've seen her do it, but this time she just wanted to sit on the sidelines.

When I told Gretel my nightmare, she started twirling her finger on her amber green-streaked hair.

"A cave ceiling collapsed on him?" she asked.

"Yeah. What the heck does that mean?"

Gretel shook her head. "I don't know. But after what Zoë dreamed-"

"Whoa. What do you mean? Zoë had a dream like that?"

"I...I don't know, exactly. About three in the morning she came to the Big House and demanded to talk to Chiron. She looked really panicked."

"Wait, how do you know this?"

"I was sort of camped outside the Artemis cabin."

"What for?"

"Just to...you know, wrap the nature around the nature girls for ruining my tree."

"You're such a wildflower."

"Why thank you. Anyway, I followed her to the Big House and hid in a bush and watched the whole thing. She got real upset when Argus wouldn't let her in. It was kind of a dangerous scene."

I tried to imagine that. Argus was the head of security for camp-a big blonde dude with eyes all over his body. He rarely showed himself unless something serious was going on. I wouldn't want to place bets on a fight between him and Zoë Nightshade.

"What did she say?" I asked.

Gretel grimaced. "Well, she starts talking really old-fashioned when she gets upset, so it was kind of hard to understand. But something about Artemis being in trouble and needing the Hunters. And then she called Argus a boil-brained lout...I think that's a bad thing. And then he called her-"

"Whoa, wait. How could Artemis be in trouble?"

"I...well, finally Chiron came out in his pajamas and his horse tail in curlers and-"

"He wears curlers in his tail?"

Gretel covered her mouth.

"Sorry," I said. "Go on."

"Well, Zoë said she needed permission to leave camp immediately. Chiron refused. He reminded Zoë that the Hunters were supposed to stay here until they received orders from Artemis. And she said…" Gretel gulped. "She said 'How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?"

"What do you mean lost? Like she needs directions?"

"No. I think she meant gone. Taken. Kidnapped."

" _Kidnapped?_ " I tried to get my mind around that idea. "How would you kidnap an immortal goddess? Is that even possible?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, it happened to Persephone; namesake."

"I know about the goddess of springtime. Artemis is a lot more powerful than that. Who could kidnap her? And why?"

Gretel shook her head miserably. "I don't know. Kronos?"

"He can't be that powerful already. Can he?"

The last time we'd seen Kronos, he'd been in tiny pieces. Well...we hadn't actually _seen_ him. Thousands of years ago, after the big Titan-God war, the gods had sliced him to bits with his own scythe and scattered his remains in Tartarus, which is like the gods' bottomless recycling bin for their enemies. Two summers ago, Kronos had tricked us to the very edge of the pit and almost pulled us in. Then last summer, on board Luke's demon cruise ship, we'd seen a golden coffin, where Luke claimed he was summoning the Titan Lord out of the abyss, bit by bit, every time someone new joined their cause. Kronos could influence people with dreams and trick them, but I didn't see how he could physically overcome Artemis if he was still like a pile of evil bark mulch.

"I don't know," Gretel said. "I think somebody would know if Kronos had re-formed. The gods would be more nervous. But still, it's weird, you having a nightmare the same night as Zoë. It's almost like-"

"They're connected," I said.

Over in the frozen meadow, a satyr skidded on his hooves as he chased after a redheaded tree nymph. She giggled and held out her arms as he ran toward her. _Pop!_ She turned into a Scotch pine and he kissed the trunk at top speed.

"Ah, love," Gretel said dreamily.

I thought about Zoë's nightmare, which she'd had only a few hours after mine.

"I've got to talk to Zoë," I said.

"Um, before you do…" Gretel took something out of her coat pocket. It was a three-fold display like a travel brochure. "You remember what you said-about how it was weird the Hunters just happened to show up at Westover Hall? I think they might've been scouting us."

"Scouting us? What do you mean?"

She gave me the brochure. It was about the Hunters of Artemis. The front read, A WISE CHOICE FOR YOUR FUTURE! Inside were pictures of young maidens doing hunter stuff, chasing monsters, shooting bows. There were captions like: HEALTH BENEFITS: IMMORTALITY AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU! and A BOY-FREE TOMORROW!

"Anthony found that in your backpack, when you guys were traveling to Westover." Gretel said.

I stared at her. I never brought a brochure with me before I went to Westover. "I don't understand."

"Well, it seems to me...the way Anthony told me to hide it from you when you arrived...maybe the Hunters wanted you to join them so they could take you away from him."

* * *

I'd like to say I took the news well.

The truth was, I wanted to strangle the Hunters of Artemis one eternal maiden at a time for trying to take me away from Anthony. The rest of the day I tried to keep busy, but I was worried sick about Anthony. I went to javelin-throwing class, but the Ares camper in charge chewed me out after I got distracted and threw the javelin at the target before he got out of the way. I apologized for the hole in his pants, but he still sent me packing, and tried to pulverize me, but I was quicker than him, so no contest.

I visited the pegasus stables, but Silena Beauregard from the Aphrodite cabin was having an argument with one of the Hunters, and I decided I'd better not get involved.

After that, I sat in the empty chariot stands and sulked. Down at the archery fields, Chiron was conducting target practice. I knew he'd be the best person to talk to. Maybe he could give me some advice, but something held me back. I had a feeling Chiron would try to protect me, like he always did. He might not tell me everything he knew.

I looked the other direction. At the top of Half-Blood Hill, Mr. D and Argus were feeding the baby dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece.

Then it occurred to me: no one would be in the Big House. There was someone else...some _thing_ else I could ask for guidance.

My blood was humming in my ears as I ran into the house and took the stairs. I'd only done this once before, and I still had nightmares about it. I opened the trap door and stepped into the attic.

The room was dark and dusty and cluttered with junk, just like I remembered. There were shields with monster bites out of them, and swords bent in the shapes of daemon heads, and a bunch of taxidermy, like a stuffed harpy and a bright orange python.

Over by the window, sitting on a three-legged stool, was the shriveled-up mummy of an old lady in a tie-dyed hippie dress. The Oracle.

I made myself walk toward her. I waited for green mist to billow from the mummy's mouth, like it had before, but nothing happened.

"Hi," I said. "Uh, what's up?"

I winced at how stupid that sounded. Not much could be "up" when you're dead and stuck in the attic. But I knew the spirit of the Oracle was in there somewhere. I could feel a cold presence in the room, like a coiled sleeping snake.

"I have a question," I said a little louder. "I need to know about Anthony. How can I save him?"

No answer. The sun slanted through the dirty attic window, lighting the dust motes dancing in the air.

I waited longer.

Then I got angry. I was being stonewalled by a corpse.

"All right," I said. "Fine. I'll figure it out myself."

I turned and bumped into a big table full of souvenirs. It seemed more cluttered than the last time I was here. Heroes stored all kinds of stuff in the attic: quest trophies they no longer wanted to keep in their cabins, or stuff that held painful memories. I knew Luke had stored a dragon claw somewhere up here-the one that had scarred his face. There was a broken sword hilt labeled: _This broke and Leroy got killed. 1999_.

Then I noticed a pink silk scarf with a label attached to it. I picked up the tag and tried to read it:

 **SCARF OF THE GODDESS APHRODITE**

RECOVERED AT WATERLAND, DENVER, CO.,

BY ANTHONY CHASE AND PERCI JACKSON

I stared at the scarf. I'd totally forgotten about it. Two years ago, Anthony had ripped this scarf out of my hands and said something like, _Oh no. Stay away from that love magic!_

I'd just assumed he'd thrown it away. And yet here it was. He'd kept it all this time? And why had he stashed it in the attic?

I turned to the mummy. She hadn't moved, but the shadows across her face made it look like she was smiling gruesomely.

I dropped the scarf and tried not to run toward the exit.

* * *

That night after dinner, I was seriously ready to beat the Hunters at capture the flag. It was going to be a small game, only thirteen Hunters, including Bianca di Angelo, and about the same number of campers.

Zoë Nightshade looked pretty upset. She kept glancing resentfully at Chiron, like she couldn't believe he was making her do this. The other Hunters didn't look too happy, either. Unlike last night, they weren't laughing or joking around. They just huddled together in the dining pavilion, whispering nervously to each other as they strapped on their armor. Some of them even looked like they'd been crying. I guess Zoë had told them about her nightmare.

On our team, we had Beckendorf and two other Hephaestus guys, a few from the Ares cabin (though it still seemed strange that Clarisse wasn't around), the Stoll brothers and Nico from Hermes cabin, and a few Aphrodite kids. It was weird that the Aphrodite cabin wanted to play. Usually they sat on the sidelines, chatted, and checked their reflections in the river and stuff, but when they heard we were fighting the Hunters, they were raring to go.

"I'll show them 'love is worthless'," Silena Beauregard grumbled as she strapped on her armor. "I'll pulverize them!"

That left Thalia and me.

"I'll take the offense," Thalia volunteered. "You take defense."

"Oh." I hesitated, because I'd been about to say the exact same thing, only reversed. "Don't you think with your shield and all, you'd be better defense?"

Thalia already had Aegis on her arm, and even our own teammates were giving her a wide berth, trying not to cower before the bronze head of Medusa.

"Well, I was thinking it would make better offense," Thalia said. "Besides, you've had more practice at defense."

"I'm not so sure about that…"

I faltered. I wasn't sure if she was teasing me. I'd had some pretty bad experiences with defense on capture the flag. My first year, Anthony had put me out as a kind of bait, and I'd almost been gored to death with spears and killed by a hellhound.

"Remember when I told you what happened the first time I meet Anthony and Luke?" I reminded her. I once told her stories when she stayed with me and my mom.

"Oh, right. Luke summoned a hellhound to kill you." Thalia said. I could see she cringed like she was trying to imagine how her friend she's known for pretty much her whole life before being turned into a pine tree would do that.

"Yeah, but...I guess I could try it again." I decided.

"Cool." Thalia turned to help some of the Aphrodite kids, who were having trouble suiting up their armor without breaking their nails. Nico di Angelo ran up to me with a big grin on his face.

"Perci, this is awesome!" His blue-feathered bronze helmet was falling in his eyes, and his breastplate was about six sizes too big. I wondered if there was any way I'd looked that ridiculous when I'd first arrived. Unfortunately, I probably had.

Nico lifted his sword with effort. "Do we get to kill the other team?"

"Well...no."

"But the Hunters are immortal, right?"

"That's only if they don't fall in battle. Besides-"

"It would be awesome if we just, like, resurrected as soon as we were killed, so we could keep fighting, and-"

"Nico, this is serious. Real swords. These can hurt."

He stared at me, a little disappointed, and I realized that I'd just sounded like my mother. Whoa. Not a good sign.

I patted Nico on the shoulder. "Hey, it's cool. Just follow the team. Stay out of Zoë's way. We'll have a blast."

Then, Gretel ran up to me wearing armor as well and he vine whip in her hand, which surprised me. "Hey, Perci." She said

"Gretel? I didn't know you were gonna join in."

"Ah, just some get-back at the Hunters. You were right. They totally deserve to get some butt-whooping for trying to take us away from Anthony."

"Us?"

Gretel paled and before she could say anything, Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor.

"Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team-Camp Half-Blood-shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis-red team-shall take the east woods. I will serve was referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"

"Sweet," Nico whispered next to me." What kind of magic items? Do I get one?"

I was about to break it to him that he didn't, when Thalia said, "Blue team! Follow me!"

They cheered and followed. Gretel and I speed-walked behind them, and I noticed Gretel was staring at Nico with a look I knew too well: a look of stern and confusion.

"What's up?" I asked.

"What?" She asked, like I brought her out of her thoughts.

"You were looking at Nico with your stern look. What's with the stare?"

"There's just something...funky about Nico's scent, even with Bianca when I first realized they were half-bloods."

"What's up with his scent?"

She hesitated like she was trying to find the right word. "I don't know, but he smells like underground, and so did Bianca before she join the Hunt. It probably doesn't mean anything."

I tried to process her words and then we decided to drop the subject to run up to catch up with our team.

* * *

We set our flag at the top of Zeus's Fist. It's this cluster of boulders in the middle of the west woods that, if you look at it just the right way, looks like a huge fist sticking out of the ground. If you look at it from any other side, it looks like a pile of enormous deer droppings, but Chiron wouldn't let us call the place the Poop Pile, especially after it had been named for Zeus, who doesn't have much of a sense of humor.

Anyway, it was a good place to set the flag. The top boulder was twenty feet tall and really hard to climb, so the flag was clearly visible, like the rules said it had to be, and it didn't matter that the guards weren't allowed to stand within ten yards of it.

I set Nico on guard duty with Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers, figuring he'd be safely out of the way.

"We'll send out a decoy to the left," Thalia told the team. "Silena, you lead that."

"Got it!"

"Take Laurel and Jason. They're good runners. Make a wide arc around the Hunter, attract as many as you can. I'll take the main raiding party around to the right and catch them by surprise."

Everybody nodded. It sounded good, and Thalia said it with such confidence you couldn't help but believe it would work.

Thalia looked at me. "Anything to add, Perci?"

"Um, yeah. Keep sharp on defense. We've got four guards, two scouts. That's not much for a big forest. Gretel and I will be roving. Yell if you need help."

"And don't leave your post!" Thalia said.

"Unless you see a golden opportunity," I added.

Thalia scowled. "Just don't leave your post."

"Right, unless-"

"Perci!" She touched my arm and shocked me. I mean, everybody can give static shocks in the winter, but when Thalia does it, it hurts. I guess it's because her dad is the god of lightning, and my father is the god of the sea, and I heard lightning is very effective in water. She's been known to fry off people's eyebrows, even my strands of my hair stood up funny, and some of the campers snickered at my hair as I tried to brush the static off my hair.

"Sorry," Thalia said, though she didn't sound particularly sorry. "Now, is everyone clear?"

Everybody nodded. We broke into our smaller groups. The horn sounded, and the game began.

Silena's group disappeared into the woods on the left. Thalia's group gave it a few seconds, then darted off toward the right.

I waited for something to happen. I climbed Zeus's Fist and had a good view over the forest with Gretel next to me. I remembered how the Hunters had stormed out of the woods when they fought the manticore, and I was prepared for something like that-one huge charge that could overwhelm us. But nothing happened.

I caught a glimpse of Silena and her two scouts. They ran through a clearing, following by five of the Hunters, leading them deep into the woods and away from Thalia. The plan seemed to be working. Then I spotted another clump of Hunters heading to the right, bows ready. They must've spotted Thalia.

"What's happening?" Nice demanded, trying to climb up next to me.

My mind was racing. Thalia would never get through, but the Hunters were divided. With that many on either flank, their center had to be wide open. If I moved fast…

I looked at Beckendorf. "Can you guys hold the fort?"

Beckendorf snorted. "Of course."

"I'm going in."

"Don't think you're breaking the rules alone." Gretel said, readying to join me.

The Stoll brothers and Nico cheered as Gretel and I raced toward the boundary line.

I was running at top speed with Gretel neck-to-neck with me and I felt great. We leaped over the creek into enemy territory. I could see their silver flag up ahead, only one guard, who wasn't even looking in my direction. I heard fighting to my left and right, somewhere in the woods. I had it made.

The guard turned to at the last minute. It was Bianca di Angelo. Her eyes widened as I slammed into her and she went sprawling in the snow as Gretel hugged her and covered her mouth.

"Sorry!" I yelled. I ripped down the silver flag from the tree and took off.

Gretel managed to tie Bianca's mouth with vines to keep her from shouting for help before she followed me. I thought we were home free.

"Perci, jump!" Gretel shouted, but too late.

 _ZIP!_ A silvery cord raced across my ankles and fastened to the tree next to me. A trip wire, fired from a bow! Even before I could go down hard, I managed to flip myself on the snow to prevent myself from sprawling. Gotta thank my ADHD for the impulsive thinking and reflexes.

"Perci! Gretel!" Thalia yelled, off to my left. "What are you two _doing?_ "

Before she reached me, an arrow exploded at her feet and a cloud of yellow smoke billowed around her team. They started coughing and gagging. I could smell the gas from across the woods-the horrible smell of sulfur.

"No fair!" Thalia gasped. "Fart arrows are unsportsmanlike!"

"Come on!" Gretel said, dragging on my arm, making me run again.

Only a few more yards to the creek and I had the game. More arrows whizzed past my ears. A Hunter came out of nowhere and slashed at me with her knife, but I parried and Gretel slammed into her and we kept running.

I heard yelling from our side of the creek. Beckendorf and Nico were running toward me. I thought they were coming to welcome me back, but then I saw they were chasing someone-Zoë Nightshade, racing toward me like a cheetah, dodging campers with no trouble. And she had our flag in her hands.

"Gretel, take the flag!" I said, handing it to her as I held up Riptide and charged.

I was two feet from the water when Zoë bolted across to her own side, slamming into me for good measure and then I slammed into Gretel. The Hunters cheered as both sides converged on the creek. Chiron appeared out of the woods, looking grim. He had the Stoll brothers on his back, and it looked as if both of them had taken some nasty whacks to the head. Connor Stoll had two arrows sticking out of his helmet like antennae.

"The Hunters win!" Chiron announced without pleasure. Then he muttered, "For the fifty-sixth time in a row."

"Persephone Jackson and Gretel Underwood!" Thalia yelled, storming toward me. She smelled like rotten eggs, and she was so mad that blue sparks flickered on her armor. Everybody cringed and backed up because of Aegis. It took all my willpower not to cower.

"What in the name of the gods were you THINKING?" she bellowed.

Gretel cowered away from her anger, but I balled my fists. I'd had enough bad stuff happen to me for one day. I didn't need this. "We got the flag, Thalia!" I gestured at Gretel, who was still holding it. "I saw a chance and we both took it!"

"I WAS AT THEIR BASE!" Thalia yelled. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would've won."

"You had too many on you!"

"Oh, so it's my fault?"

"I didn't say that."

"Argh!" Thalia pushed me, and a shock went through my body that blew me backward ten feet into the water. Some of the campers gasped. A couple of the Hunters stifled laughs.

"Sorry!" Thalia said, turning pale. "I didn't mean to-"

Anger roared in my ears. A wave erupted from the creek, blasting into Thalia's face and dousing her from head to toe.

I stood up. "Yeah," I growled. "I didn't mean to either."

Thalia was breathing heavily.

"Enough!" Chiron ordered.

But Thalia held out her spear. "You want some, Seaweed Brain?"

Somehow, it was okay when Anthony called me that-at least, I'd gotten used to it-but hearing it from Thalia was not cool.

"Bring it on, Pinecone Face!"

I raised Riptide, but before I could even defend myself, Thalia yelled, and a blast of lightning came down from the sky, hit her spear like a lightning rod, and slammed into my chest.

I sat down hard. There was a burning smell: I had a feeling it was my clothes.

"Thalia!" Chiron said. "That is _enough_!"

I got to my feet and willed the entire creek to rise. It swirled up, hundreds of gallons of water in a massive icy funnel cloud.

"Perci!" Chiron pleaded.

I was about to hurl it at Thalia when I saw something in the woods. I lost my anger and concentration all at once. The water splashed back into the creekbed. Thalia was so surprised she turned to see what I was looking at.

Someone...something was approaching. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped.

"This is impossible," Chiron said. I'd never heard him sound so nervous. "It...she has never left the attic. Never."

And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around our feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.

None of us dared move. Then her voice hizzed inside my head. Apparently everyone could hear it, because several clutched their heads over their ears.

 _I am the spirit of Delphi_ , the voice said. _Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python_.

The Oracle regarded me me with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoë Nightshade. _Approach, Seeker, and ask_.

Zoë swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. I saw the vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:

 _Five shall go west to the goddess in chain,_

 _One shall be lost in the land without rain,_

 _The bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

 _Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

 _The Titan's curse must one withstand,_

 _And one shall perish by a parent's hand._

Then, as we were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.


	7. Everybody Hates Me but the Horse

**Chapter 7**

Everybody Hates Me but the Horse

The least the Oracle could've done was walk back to the attic by herself.

Instead, Gretel and I were elected to carry her. I didn't figure that was because we were the most popular.

"Watch her head!" Gretel warned as we went up the stairs. But it was too late.

 _Bonk!_ I whacked her mummified face against the trapdoor frame and dust flew.

"Ah, man," I set her down and checked for damage. "Did I break anything?"

"I can't tell," Gretel admitted.

We hauled her up and set her on her tripod stool, both of us huffing and sweating. Who knew a mummy could weigh so much?

I assumed she wouldn't talk to me, and I was right. I was relieved when we finally got out of there and slammed the attic door shut.

"Well," Gretel said, "that was gross."

I knew she was trying to keep things light for my sake, but I still felt really down. The whole camp would be mad at me for losing the game to the Hunters, and then there was the new prophecy from the Oracle. It was like the spirit of Delphi had gone out of her way to exclude me. She'd ignored my question and walked half a mile to talk to Zoë. _And_ she'd said nothing, not even a hint, about Anthony.

"What will Chiron do?" I asked Gretel.

"I wish I knew," She looked wistfully out the second-floor window at the rolling hills covered in snow. "I want to be out there."

"Searching for Anthony?"

She had a little trouble focusing on me. Then she blushed. "Oh, right. That too. Of course."

"Why?" I asked. "What were you thinking about?"

She fidgeted her soil feet uneasily. "Just something the manticore said, about the Great Stirring. I can't help but wonder...if all those ancient powers are waking up, maybe...maybe not all of them are evil."

"You mean Pan."

I felt kind of selfish, because I'd totally forgotten about Gretel's life ambition. The nature god had gone missing two thousand years ago. He was rumored to have died, but the satyrs didn't believe that, and neither did Gretel and her family. They were determined to find him. They'd been searching in vain for centuries, and Gretel was convinced she'd be the one to succeed. This year, with Chiron putting all the satyrs and other searchers on emergency duty to find half-bloods, Gretel hadn't been able to continue her search. It must've been driving her nuts.

"I've let the trail go cold," she said. "I feel restless, like I'm missing something really important. He's out there somewhere. I can just feel it."

I didn't know what to say. I wanted to encourage her, but I didn't know how. My optimism had pretty much been trampled into the snow out there in the woods, along with our capture-the-flag hopes.

Before I could respond, Thalia tromped up the stairs. She was officially not talking to me now, but she looked at Gretel and said, "Tell Perci to get her butt downstairs."

"Why?" I asked.

"Did she say something?" Thalia asked Gretel.

"Um, she asked why."

"Dionysus is calling a council of cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy," she said. "Unfortunately, that includes Perci."

* * *

The council was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks. Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions and most of us were underage. Mr. D sighed. With a snap of his fingers the wine turned to Diet Coke. Nobody drank that either.

Mr. D and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at one end of the table. Zoë and Bianca di Angelo (who had kind of become Zoë's personal assistant) took the other end. Thalia and Gretel and I sat along the right, and the other head councilors-Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers-sat on the left. The Ares kids were supposed to send a representative, too, but all of them had gotten broken limbs (accidentally) during capture the flag, courtesy of the Hunters. They were resting up in the infirmary.

Zoë started the meeting off on a positive note. "This is pointless."

"Cheez Whiz!" Gretel gasped. She began scooping up crackers and sprayed them with topping.

"There is no time for talk," Zoë continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"West!" Bianca said. I was amazed at how different she looked after just a few days with the Hunters. Her dark hair was braided like Zoë's now, so you could actually see her face. She had a splash of freckles across her nose, and her dark eyes vaguely reminded me of someone famous, but I couldn't think who. She looked like she'd been working out, and her skin glowed faintly, like the other Hunters, as if she'd been taking showers in liquid moonlight. "You heard the prophecy. _Five shall go west to the goddess in chain_. We can get five hunters and go."

"Yes," Zoë agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."

"You're missing something, as usual," Thalia said. " _Campers and Hunters combined prevail_. We're supposed to do this together."

"No!" Zoë said. "The Hunters do not need thy help."

" _Your_ ," Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said _thy_ in, like, three hundred years, Zoë. Get with the times."

Zoë hesitated, like she was trying to form the word correctly, " _Yerrr_. We don't need _yerrr_ help."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Forget it."

"I fear the prophecy says you _do_ need our help," Chiron said. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."

"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. " _One shall be lost_. _One shall perish_. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail _because_ you try to cooperate?"

"Mr. D," Chiron sighed, "with all due respect, whose side are you on?"

Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."

"We're supposed to work together," Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like it either, Zoë, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"

Zoë grimaced, but I could tell Thalia had scored a point.

"We must not delay," Chiron warned. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice."

"Oh, joy," Dionysus muttered. "Another dull annual meeting."

"Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoë said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."

"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus."

Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on."

"I must agree with Zoë," said Chiron. "Artemis's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only one week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."

"Three and two," I said.

Everybody looked at me. Thalia even forgot to ignore me.

"We're supposed to have five," I said, feeling self-conscious. "Three Hunters, two from Camp Half-Blood. That's more than fair."

Thalia and Zoë exchanged looks.

"Well," Thalia said. "It does make sense."

Zoë grunted. "I would prefer to take _all_ the Hunters. We will need the strength of numbers."

"You'll be retracing the goddess's path," Chiron reminded her. "Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: _The bane of Olympus shows the trail_. What would your mistress say? 'Too many Hunters spoil the scent.' A small group is best."

Zoë picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it like she was deciding who she wanted to whack first. "This monster-the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis's side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be."

Everybody looked at Dionysus, I guess because he was the only god present and gods are supposed to know things. He was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent he glanced up. "Well, don't look at me. I'm a _young_ god, remember? I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation."

"Chiron," I said, "you don't have any ideas about this monster?"

Chiron pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster goddess Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Your father, Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."

"That's some serious danger you're facing," Connor Stoll said. (I liked how he said _you_ and not _we_.) "It sounds like at least two of the five are going to die."

" _One shall be lost in the land without rain_ ," Beckendorf said. "If I were you, I'd stay out of the desert."

There was a muttering of agreement.

"And _the Titan's curse must one withstand_ ," Silena said. "What could that mean?"

I saw Chiron and Zoë exchange a nervous look, but whatever they were thinking, they didn't share it.

" _One shall perish by a parent's hand_ ," Gretel said between bites of Cheez Whiz and crackers. "How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?"

There was heavy silence around the table.

I glanced at Thalia and wondered if she was thinking the same thing I was. Years ago, Chiron had had a prophecy about the next child of the Big Three-Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades-who turned sixteen. Supposedly, that kid would make a decision that would save or destroy the gods forever. Because of that, the Big Three had taken an oath after World War II not to have any more kids. But Thalia and I had been born anyway, and now we were both getting close to sixteen.

I remembered a conversation I'd had last year with Anthony. I'd asked him, if I was so potentially dangerous, why the gods didn't just kill me.

 _Some of the gods would like to kill you_ , he'd said. _But they're afraid of offending Poseidon_.

Could an Olympian parent turn against his or her half-blood child? Would it sometimes be easier just to let them die? If there were ever any half-bloods who needed to worry about that, it was Thalia and me. I wondered if maybe I should've sent Poseidon that seashell pattern tie for Father's Day after all.

"There will be deaths," Chiron decided. "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said.

Everyone looked at him. He glanced up innocently from the pages of _Wine Connoisseur_ magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me."

"Perci is right," Silena Beauregard said. "Two campers should go."

"Oh, I see," Zoë said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?"

Silena blushed. "I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters. Don't look at me!"

"A daughter of Aphrodite does not wish to be looked at," Zoë scoffed. "What would thy mother say?"

Silena started to get out of her chair, but the Stoll brothers puller her back.

"Stop it," Beckendorf said. He was a big guy with a bigger voice. He didn't talk much, but when he did, people tended to listen. "Let's start with the Hunters. Which three of you will go?"

Zoë stood. "I shall go, of course, and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker."

"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis Stoll asked cautiously.

Zoë nodded.

"The one who put the arrows in my helmet?" Connor added.

"Yes," Zoë snapped. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Travis said. "Just that we have a T-shirt for her from the camp store." He held up a big silver T-shirt that said ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDESS, FALL HUNTING TOUR 2002, with a huge list of national parks and stuff underneath. "It's a collector's item. She was admiring it. You want to give it to her?"

I knew the Stolls were up to something. They always were. But I guess Zoë didn't know them as well as I did. She just sighed and took the T-shirt. "As I was saying, I will take Phoebe. And I wish Bianca to go."

Bianca looked stunned. "Me? But...I'm so new. I wouldn't be any good."

"You will do fine," Zoë insisted. "There is no better way to prove thyself."

Bianca closed her mouth. I felt kind of sorry for her. I remembered my first quest when I was twelve. I had felt totally unprepared. A little honored, maybe, but a lot resentful and plenty scared. I figured the same things were running around in Bianca's head right now.

"And for the campers?" Chiron asked. His eyes met mine, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"I'll go." Gretel stood up and brushed cracker crumbs off her lap. "I'm good at tracking around nature."

Zoë wrinkled her nose. "I think not, dryad. You are not even a half-blood."

"But she _is_ a camper," Thalia said. "And she's got a satyr's senses and woodland magic, and she's even a great fighter, skilled with a spark vine whip. Can you track in the forest, Gretel?"

"Of course I can, I've got a lot better at it after two years."

Zoë wavered. I didn't know how Gretel could track stuff in nature, but I figured it was a dryad thing, but Zoë thought it was a good thing.

"Very well," Zoë said. "And the second camper?"

"I'll go." Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her.

Now, okay, maybe my math skills weren't the best, but it suddenly occurred to me that we'd reached the number five, and I wasn't in the group. "Whoa, wait a sec," I said. "I want to go too."

Thalia said nothing. Chiron was still studying me, his eyes sad.

"Oh," Gretel said, suddenly aware of the problem. "Whoa, yeah, I forgot! Perci has to go. I didn't mean...I'll stay. Perci should go in my place."

"She cannot," Zoë said, looking deep in my eyes, and looked disgusted. "I can see the deep desire within her Mediterranean eyes. She will not be going."

"You traveled here with me," I reminded her.

"That was when I...didn't know you quite well, and it was an order by the goddess. I will not go across country and fight many dangers in the company of a girl with a deep desire."

I didn't know what she was talking about. "What about Gretel?" I demanded.

Zoë shook her head. "She does not count. She's a nymph. She technically doesn't have true deep desire."

"Hey!" Gretel protested.

"I _have_ to go," I said. "I need to be on this quest. Why don't you want me along?"

"Why?" Zoë said, crossing her arms. "Because you desire to seek thy friend Anthony, a boy?"

I felt myself blushing. That's why she doesn't want me along. I'd forgotten how much she hates boys. "No! I mean, partly. I just feel like I'm supposed to go!"

Nobody rose to my defense. Mr. D looked bored, still reading his magazine. Silena, the Stoll brothers, and Beckendorf were staring at the table. Bianca gave me a look of pity.

"No," Zoë said flatly. "I insist upon this. I will take a nymph if I must, but not a maiden who desires to save a boy."

Chiron sighed. "The quest is for Artemis. The Hunters should be allowed to approve their companions."

My ears were ringing as I sat down and I kept my eyes closed to keep tears from leaking and my breaths were shaky as I tried to keep it steady. I tried to keep myself from crying like a little girl. I knew Gretel and some of the others were looking at me sympathetically, but I couldn't meet their eyes. I just sat there as Chiron concluded the council.

"So be it," he said. "Thalia and Gretel will accompany Zoë, Bianca, and Phoebe. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods-" he glanced a Dionysus-"present company included, we hope-be with you."

* * *

I didn't show up for dinner that night, which was a mistake, because Chiron and Gretel came looking for me.

"Perci, I'm so sorry!" Gretel said, sitting next to me on the bunk. "I didn't know they'd-that you'd-Honest!"

She started to sniffle, and I figured if I didn't cheer her up she'd cry chlorophyll to stain my mattress.

"It's okay," I lied. "Really. It's fine."

Gretel's lower lip trembled, as she watched me wipe my cheeks that were red from me crying silently alone. She knew I was not fine. "I wasn't even thinking...I was so focused on…" She faltered like she was thinking about a touchy subject. "But I promise, I'll look everywhere for Anthony. If I can find him, I will."

I nodded and tried to ignore the big crater that was opening in my chest.

"Gretel," Chiron said, "perhaps you'd let me have a word with Perci?"

"Sure," she sniffled.

Chiron waited.

"Oh," Gretel said. "You mean alone. Sure, Chiron." She looked at me miserably. "See? Nobody needs a forest nymph."

She walked out the door, wiping the chlorophyll off her cheeks.

Chiron sighed and knelt on his horse legs. "Perci, I don't pretend to understand prophecies."

"Yeah," I said. "Well, maybe that's because they don't make any sense." I laid on my bunk while slamming my head on my pillow.

Chiron gazed at the saltwater spring gurgling in the corner of the room. "Thalia would not have been my first choice to go on this quest. She's too impetuous. She acts without thinking. She is too sure of herself."

"Would you have chosen me?"

"Frankly, no," he said. "You and Thalia are much alike."

"Thanks a lot. I've heard that plenty of times. My mother and I invited her into our apartment, and we sometimes fought, but sometimes we have a lot of fun together, even if she is quite pushy."

He smiled. "The difference is that you are less sure of yourself than Thalia. That could be good or bad. But one thing I can say: both of you together would be a dangerous thing."

"We could handle it."

"The way you handled it at the creek tonight?"

I didn't answer. He's nailed me. We sometimes fought with our elemental powers, like the time when Thalia said I run like a sea turtle at school, so I once made a school sink not work for her as she tried to examine the open in confusion. But I ended up spraying water into her nose and made her the laughing stock for a while. She knew it was me, so she shocked me in return, making her hair stand up.

"Perhaps it is for the best," Chiron mused. "You can go home to your mother for the holidays. If we need you, we can call."

"Yeah," I said as I sat up. "Maybe."

I pulled out Riptide out of my pocket and set it on my nightstand. It didn't seem that I'd be using it for anything but writing Christmas cards.

When he saw the pen, Chiron grimaced. "It's also no wonder Zoë doesn't want you along, I suppose. Not while you're carrying that particular weapon."

I didn't understand what he meant. Then I remembered something he'd told me a long time ago, when he first gave me the magic sword: _It has a long and tragic history, which we need not go into_.

I wanted to ask him about that, but then he pulled a golden drachma from his saddlebag and tossed it to me. "Call you mother, Perci. Let her know you're coming home in the morning. And, ah, for what it's worth...I almost volunteered for this quest myself. I would have gone, if not for the last line."

" _One shall perish by a parent's hand_. Yeah."

I didn't need to ask. I knew Chiron's dad was Kronos, the evil Titan Lord himself. The line would make perfect sense if Chiron went on the quest. Kronos didn't care for anyone, including his own children.

"Chiron," I said. "You know what this Titan's curse is, don't you?"

His face darkened. He made a claw over his heart and pushed outward-an ancient gesture for warding off evil. "Let us hope the prophecy does not mean what I think. Now, good night, Perci. And your time will come. I'm convinced of that. There's no need to rush."

He said _your time_ the way people did when they meant _your death_. I didn't know if Chiron meant it that way, but the look in his eyes made me scared to ask.

* * *

I stood at the saltwater spring, rubbing Chiron's coin in my hand and trying to figure out what to say to my mom. I really wasn't in the mood to have one more adult tell me that doing nothing was the greatest thing I could do, but I figured my mom deserved an update.

Finally, I took a breath and threw in the coin. "O goddess, accept my offering."

The mist shimmered. The light from the bathroom was just enough to make a giant rainbow.

"Show me Sally Jackson," I said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan."

And there in the mist was a scene I did not expect. My mom was sitting at our kitchen table with some...guy. They were laughing hysterically. There was a big stack of textbooks between them. The man was, I don't know, thirty-something, with longish salt-and-pepper hair and a brown jacket over a black T-shirt. He looked like an actor-like a guy who might play an undercover cop on television.

I was too stunned to say anything, and fortunately, my mom and the guy were too busy laughing to notice my Iris-message.

The guy said, "Sally, you're a riot. You want some more wine?"

"Ah, I shouldn't. You go ahead if you want."

"Actually, I'd better use your bathroom. May I?"

"Down the hall," she said, trying not to laugh.

The actor dude smiled and got up and left.

"Mom!" I said.

She jumped so hard she almost knocked her textbooks off the table. Finally she focused on me. "Perci! Oh, honey! Is everything okay?"

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

She blinked. "Homework." Then she seemed to understand the look on my face. "Oh, honey, that's just Paul-um, Mr. Blowfis. He's in my writing seminar."

"Mr. Blowfish?"

" _Blofis_. He'll be back in a minute, Perci. Tell me what's wrong."

She always knew something was wrong with me. I told her about Anthony. The other stuff too, but mostly boiled down to Anthony.

My mother's eyes teared up. I could tell she was trying hard to keep it together for my sake. "Oh, Persephone…"

"Yeah. So they told me there's nothing I can do and Thalia won't be with us for a while. I guess I'll be coming home."

She turned her pencil around in her fingers. "Perci, as much as I want you to come home"-she sighed like she was mad at herself-"as much as I want you to be safe, I want you to understand something. You need to do whatever you think you have to."

I stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you really, deep down, believe that you have to help save him? Do you think it's the right thing to do? Because I know one thing about you, Perci. Your heart is always in the right place. Listen to it."

"You're...you're telling me to go?"

My mother pursed her lips. "I'm telling you that...you're getting too old for me to tell you what to do. I'm telling you that I'll support you, even if what you decide to do is dangerous. I can't believe I'm saying this."

"Mom-"

The toilet flushed down the hall in our apartment.

"I don't have much time," my mom said. "Perci, whatever you decide, I love you. And I _know_ you'll do what's best for Anthony."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because he'd do the same for you."

And with that, my mother waved her hand over the mist, and the connection dissolved, leaving me with one final image of her new friend, Mr. Blowfish, smiling down at her.

* * *

I don't remember falling asleep, but I do remember the dream.

I was back in that barren cave, the ceiling heavy and low above me. Anthony was kneeling under the weight of a dark mass that looked like a pile of boulders. He was too tired even to cry out. His legs trembled. Any second, I knew he would run out of strength and the cavern ceiling would collapse on top of him.

"How is our mortal guest?" a male voice boomed.

It wasn't Kronos. Kronos's voice was raspy and metallic, like a knife scraped across stone. I'd heard it taunting me many times before in my dreams. But _this_ voice was deeper and lower, like a bass guitar. Its force made the ground vibrate.

Luke emerged from the shadows. He ran to Anthony, knelt beside him, then looked back at the unseen man. "He's fading. We must hurry."

The hypocrite. Like he really cared what happened to him.

The deep voice chuckled. It belonged to someone in the shadows, at the edge of my dream. Then a meaty hand thrust someone forward into the light-Artemis-her hands and feet bound in celestial bronze chains.

I gasped. Her silvery dress was torn and tattered. Her face and arms were cut in several places, and she was bleeding ichor, the golden blood of the gods.

"You heard the boy," said the man in the shadows. "Decide!:

Artemis's eyes flashed with anger. I didn't know why she just didn't will the chains to burst, or make herself disappear, but she didn't seem able to. Maybe the chains prevented her, or some magic about this dark, horrible place.

The goddess looked at Anthony and her expression seemed hesitate, considering how she views boys. "How dare you force me to save a boy's life like this?"

"He will die soon," Luke said. "If you don't you know what will happen. You can save him."

Anthony made a weak sound of protest. My heart felt like it was being twisted into a knot. I wanted to run to him, and I couldn't move.

"Free my hands," Artemis said.

Luke brought out his sword, Backbiter. With one expert strike, he broke the goddess's handcuffs.

Artemis ran to Anthony and took the burden from his shoulders. Anthony collapsed on the ground and lat there shivering. Artemis staggered, trying to support the weight of the black rocks.

The man in the shadows chuckled. "You are as predictable as you were easy to beat, Artemis."

"You surprised me," the goddess said, straining under her burden. "It will not happen again."

"Indeed it will not," the man said. "Now you are out of the way for good! I knew you could not resist helping a young maiden's deep desire like him." He pointed at Anthony, still shivering, and then I looked at Luke, who seemed uneasy. "That is, after all, both your burden and specialty, my dear."

Artemis groaned. "You know nothing of mercy, you swine."

"On that," the man said, "we can agree. Luke, you may kill the boy now."

Luke hesitated. "He-he may yet be useful, sir. Further bait."

"Bah! You truly believe that?"

"Yes, General. They will come for him. I'm sure."

The man considered. "Then the dracaenae can guard him here. Assuming he does not die from his injuries, you may keep him alive until winter solstice. After that, if our sacrifice goes as planned, his life will be meaningless. The lives of _all_ mortals will be meaningless."

Luke gathered up Anthony's listless body and carried him away from the goddess.

"You will never find the monster you seek," Artemis said. "Your plan will fail."

"How little you know, my young goddess," the man in the shadows said. "Even now, your darling attendants begin their quest to find you. They shall play directly into my hands. Now, it you'll excuse us, we have a long journey to make. We must greet your Hunters and make sure their quest is...challenging."

The man's laughter echoed in the darkness, shaking the ground until it seemed the whole cavern ceiling would collapse.

* * *

I woke with a start. I was sure I'd heard a loud banging.

I looked around the cabin. It was dark outside. The salt spring still gurgled. No other sounds but the hoot of an owl in the woods and the distant surf of the beach. In the moonlight, on my nightstand, was Anthony's New York Yankees cap. I stared at it for a second, and then: _BANG. BANG._

Someone, or something, was pounding on my door.

I grabbed Riptide and got out of bed.

"Hello?" I called.

 _THUMP. THUMP_.

I crept to the door.

I uncapped the blade, flung open the door, and found myself face-to-face with a black pegasus.

 _Whoa, Perci!_ Its voice spoke in my mind as it clopped away from the sword blade. _I don't wanna be a horse-ke-bob!_

Its black wings spread in alarm, and the wind buffeted me back a step.

"Twilight," I said, relieved but a little irritated. "It's the middle of the night!"

Twilight huffed. _Ain't either, Perci. It's five in the morning. What are you still sleeping for?_

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and tried not to let the pegasus read my thoughts. That's the problem with being Poseidon's daughter: since he created horses out of sea foam, I can understand most equestrian animals, but they can understand me, too. Sometimes, like in Twilight's case, they kind of adopt me.

See, Twilight had been a captive on board Luke's ship last summer, until we'd caused a little distraction that allowed me to set her free and allowed her to escape. Twilight was very generous that I saved her, so she basically became my animal companion.

"Twilight," I said, "you're supposed to stay in the stables."

 _You see Chiron staying in the stables?_

"Well...no."

 _Exactly. Listen, we got another little sea friend that needs your help._

"Again?"

 _Yeah. I told the hippocampi I'd come get you._

I groaned. Anytime I was anywhere near the beach, the hippocampi would ask me to help them with their problems. And they had a lot of problems. Beached whales, porpoises caught in fishing nets, mermaids with hangnails-they'd call me to come underwater and help.

"All right," I said. "I'm coming."

 _You're the best and the most generous._

I looked back at my comfortable bed. My bronze shield still hung on the wall, dented and unusable. And on my nightstand was Anthony's magic Yankees cap. On an impulse, I stuck the cap in my pocket, and I decided to grab my backpack that had all my belongings and needs like spare clothes, ambrosia, chips, water, money and drachmas-I didn't really use during my time at Westover for a short time, but I like to be prepared after what happened two summers ago. I guess I had a feeling, even then, that I wasn't coming back to my cabin for a long, long time.


	8. I Make a Dangerous Promise

**Chapter 8**

I Make a Dangerous Promise

Twilight gave me a ride down the beach, and I have to admit it was cool. Being on a flying horse, skimming over the waves at a hundred miles an hour with the wind in my hair and the sea spray in my face-hey, it beats waterskiing any day.

 _Here_. Twilight slowed and turned in a circle. _Straight down_.

"Thanks." I tumbled off her back and plunged into the icy sea.

I'd gotten more comfortable doing stunts like that the past couple of years. I could pretty much move however I wanted to underwater, just by willing the ocean currents to change around me and propel me along. I could breathe underwater, no problem, and my clothes never got wet unless I wanted them to.

I shot down into the darkness.

Twenty, thirty, forty feet. The pressure wasn't uncomfortable. I'd never tried to push it-to see if there was a limit to how deep I could dive. I knew most regular humans couldn't go past two hundred feet without crumpling like an aluminum can. I should've been blinded, too, this deep in the water at night, but I could see the heat from living forms, and the cold of the currents. It's hard to describe. It wasn't like regular seeing, but I could tell where everything was.

As I got closer to the bottom, I saw three hippocampi-fish-tailed horses-swimming in a circle around an overturned boat. The hippocampi were beautiful to watch. Their fish tails shimmered in rainbow colors, glowing phosphorescent. Their manes were white, and they were galloping through the water the way nervous horses do in a thunderstorm. Something was upsetting them.

I got closer and saw the problem. A dark shape-some kind of animal-was wedged halfway under the boat and tangled in a fishing net, one of those big nets they use on trawlers to catch everything at once. I hated those things. It was bad enough they drowned porpoises and dolphins, but they also occasionally caught mythological animals. When the nets got tangled, some lazy fishermen would just cut them loose and let the trapped animals die.

Apparently this poor creature had been mucking around on the bottom of Long Island Sound and had somehow gotten itself tangled in the net of this sunken fishing boat. It had tried to get out and managed to get even more hopelessly stuck, shifting the boat in the process. Now the wreckage of the hull, which was resting against a big rock, was teetering and threatening to collapse on top of the tangled animal.

The hippocampi were swimming around frantically, wanting to help but not sure how. One was trying to chew the net, but hippocampi teeth just aren't meant for cutting rope. Hippocampi are really strong, but they don't have hands, and they're not (shhh) all that smart.

 _Free it, my lady!_ A hippocampus said when it saw me. The others joined in, asking the same thing.

I swam in for a closer look at the tangled creature. At first I thought it was a young hippocampus, I'd rescued several of them before. But then I heard a strange sound, something that did not belong underwater:

"Mooooooo!"

I got next to the thing and saw that it was a cow. I mean...I'd heard of sea cows, like manatees and stuff, but this really was a cow with the back end of a serpent. The front half was a calf-a baby, with black fur and big, sad brown eyes and a white muzzle-and its back half was a black-and-brown snaky tail with fins running down the top and bottom, like an enormous eel.

"Whoa, little one," I said. "Where did you come from?"

The creature looked at me sadly. "Moooo!"

But I couldn't understand its thoughts. I only speak horse, and I don't understand fish, but I'm empathetic with aquatic creatures.

 _We don't know what it is, my lady_ , on of the hippocampi said. _Many strange things are stirring_.

"Yeah," I murmured. "So I've heard."

I uncapped Riptide, and the sword grew to full length in my hands, its bronze blade gleaming in the dark.

The cow serpent freaked out and started struggling against the net, its eyes full of terror. "Whoa!" I said. "I'm not going to hurt you! Just let me cut the net."

But the cow serpent thrashed around and got even more tangled. The boat started to tilt, stirring up the muck on the sea bottom and threatening to topple onto the cow serpent. The hippocampi whinnied in a panic and thrashed in the water, which didn't help.

"Okay, okay!" I said. I put away my sword and started speaking as calmly as i could so the hippocampi and the cow serpent would stop panicking. I didn't know if it was possible to get stampeded underwater, but I didn't want to find out. "It's cool. No sword. See? No sword. Calm thoughts. Sea grass. Mama cows. Vegetarianism."

I doubted the cow serpent understood what I was saying, but it responded to the tone of my voice. The hippocampi were still skittish, but they stopped swirling around me quite so fast.

 _Free it, our lady!_ they pleaded.

"Yeah," I said. "I got that part. I'm thinking."

But how could I free the cow serpent when he (I decided it was probably a "he") panicked at the sight of a blade? It was like he'd seen swords before and knew how dangerous they were.

"All right," I told the hippocampi. "I need all of you to push exactly the way I tell you."

First we started with the boat. It wasn't easy, but with the strength of three horsepower, we managed to shift the wreckage so it was no longer threatening to collapse on the baby cow serpent. Then I went to work on the net, untangling it section by section, getting lead weights and fishing hooks straightened out, yanking out knots around the cow serpent's hooves. It took forever-I mean, it was worse than the time I'd had to untangle all my video game controller wires. The whole time, I kept talking to the cowfish, telling him everything was okay while he mooed and moaned.

"It's okay, Jimmy," I said. Don't ask me why I started calling him that. It just seemed like a good cow name. "Good cow. Nice cow."

Finally, the net came off and the cow serpent zipped through the water and did a happy somersault.

The hippocampi whinnied with joy. _Thank you, our lady!_

"Moooo!" The cow serpent nuzzled me and gave me the big brown eyes.

"Yeah," I said. "That's okay. Nice cow. Well...stay out of trouble."

Which reminded me, I'd been underwater how long? An hour, at least. I had to get back to my cabin before Argus ot the harpies discovered I was breaking curfew.

I shot to the surface and broke though. Immediately, Twilight zoomed down and let me catch hold of her neck. She lifted me into the air and took me back toward the shore.

 _Success, my lady?_

"Yeah. We rescued a baby...something or other. Took forever. Almost got stampeded."

 _Good deeds are always dangerous. You saved my sorry mane, didn't you?_

I could help thinking about my dream, with Anthony crumpled and lifeless in Luke's arms. Here I was rescuing baby monsters, but I couldn't save my friend.

As Twilight flew back toward my cabin, I happened to glance at the dining pavilion. I saw a figure-a boy hunkered down behind a Greek column, like he was hiding from someone.

It was Nico, but it wasn't even dawn yet. Nowhere near time for breakfast. What was he doing up there?

I hesitated. The last thing I wanted was more time for Nico to tell me about his Mythomagic game. But something was wrong. I could tell by the way he was crouching.

"Twilight," I said, "set me down over there, will you? Behind that column."

* * *

I almost blew it.

I was coming up the steps behind Nico. He didn't see me at all. He was behind a column, peeking around the corner, all his attention focused on the dining area. I was five feet away from him, and I was about to say _What are you doing?_ real loud, when it occurred to me that he was spying on the Hunters.

There were voices-two girls talking at one of the dining tables. At this ungodly hour of the morning? Well, unless you're the goddess of dawn, I guess.

I took out Anthony's magic cap out of my pocket and put it on.

I didn't feel any different, but when I raised my arms I couldn't see them. I was invisible.

I crept up to Nico and sneaked around him. I couldn't see the girls very well in the dark, but I knew their voices: Zoë and Bianca. It sounded like they were arguing.

"It _cannot_ be cured," Zoë was saying. "Not quickly, at any rate."

"But how did it happen?" Bianca asked.

"A foolish prank," Zoë growled. "Those Stoll boys from the Hermes cabin. Centaur blood is like acid. Everyone knows that. They sprayed the inside of that Artemis Hunting T-shirt with it."

"That's terrible!"

"She will live," Zoë said. "But she'll be bedridden for weeks with horrible hives. There is no way she can go. It's up to me...and thee."

"But the prophecy," Bianca said. "If Phoebe can't go, we only have four. We'll have to pick another."

"There is no time," Zoë said. "We must leave at first light. That's immediately. Besides, the prophecy said we would lose one."

"In the rain without rain," Bianca said, "but that can't be here."

"It might be," Zoë said, though she didn't sound convinced. "The camp has magic borders. Nothing, not even weather, is allowed in without permission. It _could_ be a land without rain."

"But-"

"Bianca, her me." Zoë's voice was strained. "I...I can't explain, but I have a sense that we should _not_ pick someone else. It would be too dangerous. They would meet an end worse than Phoebe's. I don't want Chiron choosing a camper as our fifth companion, especially that Jackson girl. And...I don't want to risk another Hunter.

Bianca was silent. "You should tell Thalia the rest of your dream, and Perci is a good fighter and a good friend, she even saved mine and my brother's lives."

"No. Neither of that nor she will help."

"But if your suspicions are correct, about the General-"

"I have thy word not to talk about that," Zoë said. She sounded really anguished. "We will find out soon enough. Now come. Dawn is breaking."

Nico scooted out of their way. He was faster than me.

As the girls sprinted down the steps, Zoë almost ran into me. She froze, her eyes narrowing. Her hand crept toward her bow, but then Bianca said, "The lights of the Big House are on. Hurry!"

And Zoë followed her out of the pavilion.

* * *

I could tell what Nico was thinking. He took a deep breath and was about to run after his sister when I took off the invisibility cap and said, "Wait."

He almost slipped on the icy steps as he spun around to find me. "Where did you come from?"

"I've been here the whole time. Invisible."

He mouthed the word _invisible_. "Wow. Cool."

"How did you know Zoë and your sister were here?"

He blushed. "I heard them walk by the Hermes cabin. I don't...I don't sleep too well at camp. So I heard footsteps, and them whispering. And so I kind of followed."

"And now you're thinking about following them on the quest." I guessed.

"How did you know that?"

"Because if it was my sister, I'd probably be thinking the same thing. But you can't."

He look defiant. "Because I'm too young?"

"Because they won't let you. They'll catch you and send you back here. And...yeah, because you're too young. You remember the manticore? There will be lots more like that. More dangerous. Some of the heroes will die."

His shoulders sagged. He shifted from foot to foot. "Maybe you're right. But, but _you_ can go for me."

"Say what?"

"You can turn invisible. You can go!"

"The Hunters don't like me," I reminded him. "If they find out-"

"Don't let them find out. Follow them invisibly. Keep an eye on my sister! You have to. Please?"

"Nico-"

"You're planning to go anyway, aren't you?"

He gestured to my backpack I was still wearing, full of all of the goodies and needs I have. I wanted to say no. But he looked me in the eyes, and I somehow couldn't lie to him.

"Yeah," I said. "I have to find Anthony. I have to help, even if they don't want me to."

"I won't tell on you," he said. "But you have to promise to keep my sister safe."

"I...that's a big thing promise, Nico, on a trip like this. Besides, she's got Zoë, Gretel, and Thalia-"

"Promise," he insisted.

"I'll do my best. I promise that."

"Get going, then!" he said. "Good luck!"

It was crazy. I was supposed to be going home to Manhattan this morning, but I had everything I needed and I had to help my friends. "Tell Chiron-"

"I'll make something up." Nico smiled crookedly. "I'm good at that. Go on!"

I ran, putting on Anthony's cap. As the sun came up, I turned invisible. I hit the top of Half-Blood Hill in time to see the camp's van disappearing down the farm road, probably Argus taking the quest group into the city. After that they would be on their own.

I felt a twinge of guilt, and stupidity, too. How was I supposed to keep up with them. Run?

Then I heard the beating of huge wings. Twilight landed next to me. She began casually nuzzling a few tufts of grass that stuck through the ice.

 _If I was guessing, my lady, I'd say you need a getaway horse. You interested?_

A lump of gratitude stuck in my throat, but I managed to say, "Yeah. Let's fly."


	9. I Learn How to Grow Zombies

**Chapter 9**

I Learn How to Grow Zombies

The thing about flying on a pegasus during the daytime is that if you're not careful, you can cause a serious traffic accident on the Long Island Expressway. I had to keep Twilight up in the clouds, which were, fortunately, pretty low in the winter. We darted around, trying to keep the white Camp Half-Blood van in sight. And if it was cold on the ground, it was seriously cold in the air, with icy rain stinging my skin.

I was wishing I'd also brought some of the Camp Half-Blood orange thermal underwear they sold in the camp store, but after the story about Phoebe and the centaur blood T-shirt, I wasn't sure I trusted their products anymore.

We lost the van twice, but I had a pretty good sense that they would go into Manhattan first, so it wasn't too difficult to pick up their trail again.

Traffic was bad with the holidays and all. It was mid morning before they got into the city. I landed Twilight near the top of the Chrysler Building and watched the white camp van, thinking it would pull into the bus station, but it just kept driving.

"Where's Argus taking them?" I muttered.

 _Oh, Argus isn't the one driving, Perci_ , Twilight told me. _That girl is_.

"Which girl? This is pretty much and all-girl quest, you know."

 _The Hunter girl. With the silver crown thing in her hair_.

"Zoë?"

 _That's the one. Hey, look! A donut shop. Think we can get something to go before we fly again?_

I tried explaining to Twilight that taking a flying horse to a donut shop would give every cop in there a heart attack, but she didn't seem to get it. Meanwhile, the van kept snaking its way toward the Lincoln Tunnel. It had never even occurred to me that Zoë could drive. I mean, she didn't look sixteen. Then again, she was immortal. I wondered if she had a New York license, and if so, what her birth date said.

"Well," I said. "Let's get after them."

We were about to leap off the Chrysler Building when Twilight whinnied in alarm and almost threw me. Something was curling around my leg like a snake. I reached for my sword, but when I looked down, there was no snake. Vines-grape vines-had sprouted from the cracks between the stones of the building. They were wrapping around Twilight's legs, lashing down my ankles so we couldn't move.

"Going somewhere, young lady?" Mr. D asked.

He was leaning against the building with his feet levitating in the air, his leopard-skin warm-up suit and black hair whipping around in the wind.

 _God alert!_ Twilight yelled. _It's the wine dude!_

Mr. D sighed in exasperation. "The next person, _or horse_ , who calls me the 'wine dude' will end up in a bottle of Merlot!"

"Mr. D." I tried to keep my voice calm as the grape vines continued to wrap around my legs. "What do you want?"

"Oh, what do _I_ want? You thought, perhaps, that the immortal, all-powerful director of camp would not notice you leaving without permission?"

"Well...maybe."

"I should throw you off this building, minus the fly horse, and see how heroic you sound on the way down."

I balled my fists. I knew I should keep my mouth shut, but Mr. D was about to kill me and haul me back to camp in shame, and I couldn't stand either idea. "Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?"

Purple flames flickered in his eyes. "You're a hero, girl. I need no other reason."

"I _have_ to go on this quest! I've got to help my friends. That's something you wouldn't understand!"

 _Um, Persephone_ , Twilight said nervously. _Seeing as how we're wrapped in vines nine hundred feet in the air, you might want to talk nice_.

The grape vines coiled tighter around me. Below us, the white van was getting farther and farther away. Soon it would be out of sight.

"Did I ever tell you about Ariadne?" Mr. D asked. "Beautiful young princess of Crete? She like helping her friends, too. In fact, she helped a young hero named Theseus, also a child of Poseidon. She gave him a ball of magical yarn that let him find his way out of the Labyrinth. And do you know how Theseus rewarded her?"

The answer I wanted to give was _I don't care!_ But I didn't figure that would make Mr. D finish his story any faster, but I already knew the story.

"Theseus said he'd marry her. He took her aboard his ship and sailed for Athens. Halfway back, on a little island called Naxos and he…" I said, but faltered a bit. "He...dumped her."

Mr. D's face look impressed and distasteful at the same time. "Tantalus _was_ right about you, you really are quite a scholar of mythology, aren't you? And I found her there, you know. Alone. Heartbroken. Crying her eyes out. She had given up everything, left everything she knew behind, to help a dashing young hero who tossed her away like a broken sandal."

"That's wrong, I get that, but that was thousands of years ago. What's that got to do with me?"

Mr. D regarded me coldly. "I fell in love with Ariadne, girl. I healed her broken heart. And when she died, I made her my immortal wife on Olympus. She waits for me even now. I shall go back to her when I am done with this infernal century of punishment at your ridiculous camp."

I stared at him. "You're...you're married? But I thought you got in trouble for chasing a wood nymph-"

"My _point_ is you heroes never change. You accuse us gods of being vain. You should look at yourselves. You take what you want, use whoever you have to, and then you betray everyone around you. So you'll excuse me if I have no love for heroes. They are a selfish, ungrateful lot. Ask Ariadne. Or Medea. For that matter, as Zoë Nightshade."

"What do you mean, ask Zoë?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "Go. Follow your silly friends."

The vines uncurled around my legs.

I blinked in disbelief. "You're...you're letting me go? Just like that?"

"The prophecy says at least two of you will die. Perhaps I'll get lucky and you'll be one of them. But mark my words, Daughter of Poseidon, live or die, you will prove no better than the other heroes."

With that, Dionysus snapped his fingers. His image folded up like a paper display. There was a _pop_ and he was gone, leaving a faint scent of grapes that was quickly blown away by the wind.

 _Too close_ , Twilight said.

I nodded, though I almost would have been less worried if Mr. D had hauled me back to camp. The fact that he'd let me go meant he really believed we stood a fair chance of crashing and burning on this quest.

"Come on, Twilight," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "I'll buy you some donuts in New Jersey."

* * *

As it turned out, I didn't buy Twilight donuts in New Jersey. Zoë drove south like a crazy person, and we were into Maryland before she finally pulled over at a rest stop. Twilight darn near tumbled out of the sky, she was so tired.

 _I'll be okay_ , she panted. _Just...just catching my breath_.

"Stay here," I told her. "I'm going to scout."

' _Stay here' I can handle. I can do that_.

I put on my cap of invisibility and walked over to the convenience store. It was difficult not to sneak. I had to keep reminding myself that nobody could see me. It was hard, too, because I had to remember to get out of people's way so they wouldn't slam into me.

I thought I'd go inside and warm up, maybe get a cup of hot chocolate or something. I had plenty of change in my backpack and my pockets. I could leave it on the counter. I was wondering if the cup would turn invisible when I picked it up, or if I'd have to deal with a floating hot chocolate problem, when my whole plan was ruined by Zoë, Thalia, Bianca, and Gretel all coming out of the store.

You know, it's rare to have like a quest with group that's all-girls. I guess it's because there weren't that many female heroes out there really, even if some are fighters, but not a lot are very famous or noticeable.

"Gretel, are you sure?" Thalia was saying.

"Well...pretty sure. Ninety-nine percent. Okay, eighty-five percent."

"And you did this with acorns?" Bianca asked, like she couldn't believe it.

Gretel looked offended. "It's a time-honored tracking spell. I mean, I'm pretty sure I did it right."

"D.C. is about sixty miles from here," Bianca said. "Nico and I…" She frowned. "We used to live there. That's...that's strange. I'd forgotten."

"I dislike this," Zoë said. "We should go straight west. The prophecy said west."

"Oh, like your tracking skills are better?" Thalia growled.

Zoë stepped toward her. "You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know _nothing_ of being a Hunter!"

"Oh, _scullion_? You're calling _me_ a scullion? What the heck is a scullion?"

"Whoa, you two," Gretel said nervously. "Come on. Not again!"

"Gretel's right," Bianca said. "D.C. is our best bet."

Zoë didn't look convinced, but she nodded reluctantly. "Very well. Let us keep moving."

"You're going to get us arrested, driving," Thalia grumbled. "I look closer to sixteen than you do."

"Perhaps," Zoë snapped. "But I have been driving since automobiles were invented. Let us go."

* * *

As Twilight and I continued south, following the van, I wondered whether Zoë had been kidding. I didn't know exactly when cars were invented, but I figured that was like prehistoric times-back when people watched black-and-white TV and hunted dinosaurs.

How old _was_ Zoë? And what had Mr. D been talking about? What bad experience had she had with heroes?

As we got closer to Washington, Twilight started slowing down and dropping altitude. She was breathing heavily.

"You okay?" I asked her.

 _Fine, Perci. I could...I could take on an army_.

"You don't sound so good." And suddenly I felt guilty, because I'd been running a pegasus for half a day, nonstop, trying to keep up with highway traffic. Even for a flying horse, that had to be rough.

 _Don't worry about me, Perci! I'm a tough one_.

I figured she was right, but I also figured Twilight would run herself into the ground before she complained, and I didn't want that.

Fortunately, the van started to slow down. It crossed the Potomac River into central Washington. I started thinking about air patrols and missiles and stuff like that. I didn't know exactly how all those defenses worked, and wasn't sure if pegasi even showed up on your typical military radar, but I didn't want to find out by getting shot out of the sky.

"Set me down there," I told Twilight. "That's close enough."

Twilight was so tired she didn't complain. She dropped toward the Washington Monument and set me on the grass.

The van was only a few blocks away. Zoë had parked at the curb.

I looked at Twilight. "I want you to go back to camp. Get some rest. Graze. I'll be fine."

Twilight cocked her head skeptically. _You sure, Perci?_

"You've done enough already," I said. "I'll be fine. And thanks a ton."

 _All right, but be careful, I got a feeling they don't come here to meet anything friendly and pretty like me_.

I promised to be careful. Then Twilight took off, circling twice around the monument before disappearing into the clouds.

I looked over at the white van. Everybody was getting out. Gretel pointed toward one of the big buildings lining the Mall. Thalia nodded, and the four of them trudged off into the cold wind.

I started to follow. But then I froze.

A block away, the door of a black sedan opened. A man with gray hair and a military buzz cut got out. He was wearing dark shades and a black overcoat. Now, maybe in Washington, you'd expected guys like that to be everywhere. But it dawned on me that I'd seen this same car a couple of times on the highway, going south. It had been following the van. The guy took out his mobile phone and said something into it. Then he looked around, like he was making sure the coast was clear, and started walking down the Mall in the direction of my friends.

The worst of it was: when he turned towards me, I recognized his face. It was Dr. Thorn, the manticore from Westover Hall.

* * *

Invisibility cap on, I followed Thorn from a distance. My heart was pounding. If _he_ had survived that fall from the cliff, then Anthony must have too. My dreams had been right. He was alive and being held prisoner.

Thorn kept well back from my friends, careful not to be seen.

Finally, Gretel stopped in front of a big building that said NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM. The Smithsonian! I'd been here a million years ago with my mom, but everything had looked so much bigger than.

Thalia checked the door. It was open, but there weren't many people going in. Too cold, and school was out of session. They slipped inside.

Dr. Thorn hesitated. I wasn't sure why, but he didn't go into the museum. He turned and headed across the Mall. I made a split-second decision and followed him.

Thorn crossed the street and climbed the steps of the Museum of Natural History. There was a big sign on the door. At first I thought it said CLOSED FOR PIRATE EVENT. Then I realized PIRATE must be PRIVATE.

I followed Dr. Thorn inside, through a huge chamber full of mastodons and dinosaur skeletons. There were voices up ahead, coming from behind a set of closed doors. Two guards stood outside. They opened the doors for Thorn, and I had to sprint to get inside before they closed them again.

Inside, what I saw was so terrible I almost gasped out loud, which probably would've gotten me killed.

I was a huge round room with a balcony ringing the second level. At least a dozen mortal guards stood on the balcony, plus two monsters-reptilian women with double snake trunks instead of legs. I'd seen them before. Anthony had called them Scythian dracaenae.

But that wasn't the worse of it. Standing between the snake women-I could swear he was looking straight down at me-was my old enemy Luke. He looked terrible. His skin was pale and his blonde hair looked almost gray, as if he'd aged ten years in just a few months. The angry light in his eyes was still there, and so was the scar down the side of his face, where a dragon had once scratched him. But the scar was now ugly red, as though it had recently been reopened.

Next to him, sitting down so that the shadows covered him, was another man. All I could see were his knuckles on the gilded arms of his chair, like a throne.

"Well?" asked the man in the chair. HIs voice was just like the one I'd heard in my dream-not as creepy as Kronos's. But deeper and stronger, like the earth itself was talking. It filled the whole room even though he wasn't yelling.

Dr. Thorn took off his shades. His two-colored eyes, brown and blue, glittered with excitement. He made a stiff bow, then spoke in his weird French accent: "They are here, General."

"I know that, you fool," boomed the man. "But where?"

"In the rocket museum."

"The Air and Space Museum," Luke corrected irritably.

Dr. Thorn glared at Luke. "As you say, _sir_."

I got the feeling Thorn would just as soon impale Luke with one of his spikes as he called him sir.

"How many?" Luke asked.

Thorn pretended not to hear.

" _How many?_ " the General demanded.

"Four, General, and it's a group of only girls," Thorn said. "The dryad, Gretel Underwood. And the girl with the spiky black hair and the-how do you say- _punk_ clothes and the horrible shield."

"Thalia," Luke said.

"And two other girls-Hunters. One wears a silver circlet."

" _That_ one I know," the General growled.

Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.

"Let me take them," Luke said to the General. "We have more than enough-"

"Patience," the General said. "They'll have their hands full already. I've sent a little playmate to keep them occupied."

"But-"

"We cannot risk you, my boy."

"Yes, _boy_ ," Dr. Thorn said with a cruel smile. "You are much too fragile to risk. Let _me_ finish them off."

"No." The General rose from his chair, and I got my first look at him.

He was tall and muscular, with light brown skin and slicked-back dark hair. He wore an expensive brown silk suit like the guys on Wall Street wear, but you'd never mistake this dude for a broker. He had a brutal face, huge shoulders, and hands that could snap a flagpole in half. His eyes were like stone. I felt as if I were looking at a living statue. It was amazing he could even move.

"You have already failed me, Thorn," he said.

"But, General-"

"No excuses!"

Thorn flinched. I'd thought Thorn was scary when I first saw him in his black uniform at the military academy. But now, standing before the General, Thorn looked like a silly wannabe soldier. The General was the real deal. He didn't need a uniform. He was a born commander.

"I should throw you into the pits of Tartarus for your incompetence," the General said. "I send you to capture a child of the three elder gods, and you bring me a scrawny son of Athena."

"But you promised me revenge!" Thorn protested. "A command of my own!"

"I am Lord Kronos's senior commander," the General said. "And I will choose lieutenants who get me results! It was only thanks to Luke that we salvaged our plan at all. Now get out of my sight, Thorn, until I find some other menial task for you."

Thorn's face turned purple with rage. I thought he was going to start frothing at the mouth or shooting spines, but he just bowed awkwardly and left the room.

"Now, my boy." The General said to Luke. "The first thing we must do is isolate the half-blood Thalia. The monster we seek will then come to her."

"The Hunters will be difficult to dispose of," Luke said. "Zoë Nightshade-"

"Do not speak her name!"

Luke swallowed. "S-sorry, General. I just-"

The General silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Let me show you, my boy, how we will bring the Hunters down."

He pointed to a guard on the ground level. "Do you have the teeth?"

The guy stumbled forward with a ceramic pot. "Yes, General!"

"Plant them," he said.

In the center of the room was a big circle of dirt, where I guess a dinosaur exhibit was supposed to go. I watched nervously as the guard took sharp white teeth out of the pot and pushed them into the soil. He smoothed them over while the General smiled coldly.

The guard stepped back from the dirt and wiped his hands. "Ready, General!"

"Excellent! Water them, and we will let them scent their prey."

The guard picked up a little tin watering can with daisies painted on it, which was kind of bizarre, because what he poured out wasn't water. It was dark red liquid, and I got the feeling it wasn't Hawaiian Punch.

The soil began to bubble.

"Soon," the General said, "I will show you, Luke, soldiers that will make your army from that little boat look insignificant."

Luke clenched his fists. "I've spent a year training my forces! When the _Princess Andromeda_ arrives at the mountains, they'll be the best-"

"Ha!" the General said. "I don't deny your troops will make a fine honor guard for Lord Kronos. And you, of course, will have a role to play-"

I thought Luke turned paler when the General said that.

"-but under my leadership, the forces of Lord Kronos will increase a hundredfold. We will be unstoppable. Behold, my ultimate killing machines."

The soil erupted. I stepped back nervously.

In each spot where a tooth has been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt. The first of them said:

"Mew?"

It was a kitten. A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger. Then another appeared, until there were a dozen, rolling around and playing in the dirt.

Everyone stared at them in disbelief, and I bit my tongue to not burst into laughter. The General roared, " _What is this? Cute cuddly kittens? Where did you find those teeth?_ "

The guard who'd brought the teeth cowered in fear. "From the exhibit, sir! Just like you said. The saber-toothed tiger-"

"No, you idiot! I said the tyrannosaurus! Gather up those...those infernal fuzzy little beasts and take them outside. And never let me see your face again."

The terrified guard dropped his watering can. He gathered up the kittens and scampered out of the room.

"You!" The General pointed to another guard. "Get me the _right teeth_. _NOW!_ "

The new guard ran off to carry out his orders.

"Imbeciles," muttered the General.

"This is why I don't use mortals," Luke said. "They are unreliable."

"They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent," the General said. "I love them."

A minute later, the guard hustled into the room with his hands full of large pointy teeth.

"Excellent," the General said. He climbed onto the balcony railing and jumped down, twenty feet.

Where he landed, the marble floor cracked under his leather shoes. He stood, wincing, and rubbed his shoulders. "Curse my stiff neck."

"Another hot pad, sir?" a guard asked. "More Tylenol?"

"No! It will pass." The General brushed off his silk suit, then snatched up the teeth. "I shall do this myself."

He held up one of the teeth and smiled. "Dinosaur teeth-ha! Those foolish mortals don't even know when they have dragon teeth in their possession. And not just _any_ dragon teeth. These come from the ancient Sybaris herself! They shall do nicely."

He planted them in the dirt, twelve in all. Then he scooped up the watering can. He sprinkled the soil with red liquid, tossed the can away, and held his arms out wide. "Rise!"

The dirt trembled. A single skeleton hand shot out of the ground, grasping at the air.

The General looked up at the balcony. "Quickly, do you have the scent?"

"Yesssss, lord," one of the snake ladies said. She took out a sash of silvery fabric, like the kind the Hunters wore.

"Excellent," the General said. "Once my warriors catch its scent, they will pursue its owner relentlessly. Nothing can stop them, no weapons known to half-blood or Hunter. They will tear the Hunters and their allies to shreds. Toss it here!"

As he said that, skeletons erupted from the ground. There were twelve of them, one for each tooth the General had planted. They were nothing like Halloween skeletons, or the kind you might see in cheesy movies. These were growing flesh as I watched, turning into men, but men with dull gray skin, yellow eyes, and modern clothes-gray muscle shirts, camo pants, and combat boots. If you didn't look too closely, you could almost believe they were human, but their flesh was transparent and their bones shimmered underneath, like X-ray images.

One of them looked straight at me, regarding me coldly, and I knew that no cap of invisibility would fool it.

The snake lady released the scarf and it fluttered down toward the General's hand. As soon as he gave it to the warriors, they would hunt Zoë and the others until they were extinct.

I didn't have time to think. I ran and jumped with all my might, plowing into the warriors and snatching the scarf out of the air.

"What's this?" bellowed the General.

I landed at the feet of a skeleton warrior, who hissed.

"An intruder," the General growled. "One cloaked in darkness. Seal the doors!"

"It's Perci Jackson!" Luke yelled. "It has to be."

"The Daughter of the Sea God," the General said in disgust.

I sprinted for the exit, but I heard a ripping sound and realized the skeleton warrior had taken a chunk out of my sleeve. When I glanced back, he was holding the fabric up to his nose, sniffing the scent, handing it around to his friends. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I squeezed through the door just as the guards slammed it shut behind me.

And then I ran.


	10. I Break a Few Rocket Ships

**Chapter 10**

I Break a Few Rocket Ships

I tore across the Mall, not daring to look behind me. I burst into the Air and Space Museum and took off my invisibility cap once I was through the admissions area.

The main part of the museum was one huge room with rockets and airplanes hanging from the ceiling. Three levels of balconies curled around, so you could look at the exhibits from all different heights. The place wasn't crowded. Just a few families and a couple of tour groups of kids, probably doing one of those holiday school trips. I wanted to yell at them all to leave, but I figured that would only get me arrested. I had to find Thalia and Gretel and the Hunters. Any minute, the skeleton dudes were going to invade the museum, and I didn't think they would settle for an audio tour.

I ran into Thalia-literally. I was barreling up the ramp to the top-floor balcony and slammed into her, knocking her into an Apollo space capsule.

Gretel yelped in surprise.

Before I could regain me balance, Zoë and Bianca had arrows notched, aimed at my chest. Their bows had just appeared out of nowhere.

When Zoë realized who I was, she didn't seem anxious to lower her bow. "You, young maiden! How dare you show thy face here?"

"Perci!" Gretel said. "Thank goodness."

Zoë glared at her, and she only makes a look of annoyance. "Don't give me that look, she's my best friend, if I didn't know any better, she should be our fifth member, but don't be stubborn with her."

"Luke," I said, trying to catch my breath. "He's here."

The anger in Thalia's eyes immediately melted. She put her hand on her silver bracelet. "Where?"

I told them about the Natural History Museum, Dr. Thorn, Luke, and the General.

"The General is _here_?" Zoë looked stunned. "That is impossible! You lie."

"Why would I lie? Look, there's no time. Skeleton warriors-"

" _What?_ " Thalia demanded. "How many?"

"Twelve," I said. "And that's not all. That guy, the General, he said he was sending something, a 'playmate,' to distract you over here. A monster."

Thalia and Gretel exchanged looks.

"We were following Artemis's trail," Gretel said. "I was pretty sure it led here. Some powerful monster scent...She must've stopped here looking for the mystery monster. But we haven't found anything yet."

"Zoë," Bianca said nervously, "if it _is_ the General-"

"It _cannot_ be!" Zoë snapped. "Perci must have seen an Iris-message or some other illusion."

"Illusions don't crack marble floors," I told her.

Zoë took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. I didn't know why she was taking it so personally, or how she knew this General guy, but I figured now wasn't the time to ask.

"If Perci is telling the truth about the skeleton warriors," she said, "we have no time to argue. They are the worst, the most horrible...We must leave now."

"Good idea," I said.

"I was _not_ including thee, maiden," Zoë said. "You are not part of this quest."

"Hey, have you forgotten Gretel's statement? I'm trying to save your lives!"

"You shouldn't have come, Perci," Thalia said grimly. "But you're right: you're here now. Come on. Let's get back to the van."

"That is not thy decision!" Zoë snapped.

Thalia scowled at her. "You're not the boss here, Zoë. I don't care how old you are! You're still a conceited little brat!"

Zoë looked at me and Gretel and then back at Thalia. "You three never had any wisdom when it came to boys," Zoë growled. "You never could leave them behind!"

Thalia looked like she was about to hit Zoë. Then everyone froze. I heard a growl so loud I thought one of the rocket engines was starting up.

Below us, a few adults screamed. A little kid's voice screeched with delight: "Kitty!"

Something enormous bounded up the ramp. It was the size of a pick-up truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur. I'd seen this monster once before. Two years ago, I'd glimpsed it briefly from a train. Now, up close and personal, it looked even bigger.

"The Nemean Lion," Thalia said. "Don't move."

The lion roared so loud it made my hair straight behind me, Its fangs gleamed like stainless steel.

"Separate on my mark," Zoë said. "Try to keep it distracted."

"Until when?" Gretel asked.

"Until I think of a way to kill it. Go!"

I uncapped Riptide and rolled to the left. Arrows whistled past me, and Gretel pulled out her vine whip and snapped it on the ground near the lion's feet, with sparks flying around. I turned and saw Zoë and Bianca climbing the Apollo capsule. They were firing arrows, one after another, all shattering harmlessly against the lion's metallic fur. The lion swiped the capsule and tipped it on its side, spilling the Hunters off the back. Gretel wrapped her vine around its paw, but then it growled it tugged its paw as it swung Gretel as she flew into one of the airplane exhibits, and she held on tight. Thalia stepped into its path, holding up Aegis, and the lion recoiled. " _ROOOAAAR!_ "

"Hi-yah!" Thalia said. "Back!"

The lion growled and clawed the air, but it retreated as if the shield were a blazing fire.

For a second, I thought Thalia had it under control. Then I saw the lion crouching, its leg muscles tensing. I'd seen enough cat fights in the alleys around my apartment in New York. I knew the lion was going to pounce.

"Hey!" I yelled. I don't know what I was thinking, but I charged the beast. I just wanted to get it away from my friends. I slashed with Riptide, a good strike to the flank that should've cut the monster into Meow Mix, but the blade just clanged against its fur in a burst of sparks.

The lion tried to rake me with its claws, but I quickly leaned back so much, it should've broke my spine as its claws flew over my stomach. I then did a handstand backflip to regain my stance as I backed against the railing. It sprang at me, one thousand pounds of monster, and I had no choice but to turn and jump.

I landed on the wing of an old-fashioned silver airplane, which pitched and almost spilled me to the floor, three stories below.

An arrow whizzed past my head. The lion jumped onto the aircraft, and the cords holding the plane began to groan.

The lion swiped at me, and I dropped onto the next exhibit, a weird-looking spacecraft with blades like a helicopter. I looked up and saw the lion roar-inside its maw, a pink tongue and throat.

Its mouth, I thought. Its fur was completely invulnerable, but if I could strike it in the mouth...The only problem was, the monster moved too quickly. Between its claws and fangs, I couldn't get close without getting sliced to pieces.

"Zoë!" I shouted. "Target the mouth!"

The monster lunged. An arrow zipped past it, missing completely, and I dropped from the spaceship onto the top of a floor exhibit, a huge model of the earth. I slid down Russia and dropped off the equator. Gretel climbed from her airplane exhibit with her live as she dangled several feet above as she unwrapped her whip from the plane and fell onto the ground on her feet perfectly.

The Nemean Lion growled and steadied itself on the spacecraft, but its weight was too much. One of the cords snapped. As the display swung down like a pendulum, the lion leaped off onto the model earth's North Pole.

"Gretel!" I yelled. "Clear the area!"

Groups of kids were running around screaming. Gretel tried to corral them away from the monster just as the other cord on the spaceship snapped and the exhibit crashed to the floor. Thalia dropped off the second-floor railing and landed across from me, on the other side of the globe. The lion regarded us both, trying to decide which of us to kill first.

Zoë and Bianca were above us, bows ready, but they kept having to move around to get a good angle.

"No clear shot!" Zoë yelled. "Get it to open its mouth more!"

The lion snarled from the top of the globe.

I looked around. _Options_. I needed…

The gift shop. I had a vague memory from my trip here as a little kid. Something I'd made my mom buy me, and I'd regretted it. If they still sold that stuff…I looked at Thalia and then at a water fountain a few feet behind me, and I got an idea.

"Thalia," I said, "keep it occupied."

She nodded grimly.

I concentrated on the water inside the water fountain and then a huge wave of water erupted out as I soaked the lion and doused its fur as it growled at me.

"Hi-yah!" Thalia pointed her spear and a spidery arc of blue electricity shout out, and I knew water and electricity never a good match, and it zapped the lion around its entire body in a thousand bolts of short-circuiting electricity.

" _ROOOOOOOAR!_ " The lion turned and pounced. Thalia rolled out of its way, holding up Aegis to keep the monster at bay, and I ran for the gift shop.

"This is no time for souvenirs, Persephone!" Zoë yelled.

I dashed into the shop, knocking over rows of T-shirts, jumping over tables full of glow-in-the-dark planets and space ooze. The sales lady didn't protest. She was too busy cowering behind her cash register.

There! On the far wall-glittery sliver packets. Whole racks of them. I scooped up every kind I could find and ran out of the shop with an armful.

Zoë and Bianca were still showering arrows on the monster, but it was no good. The lion seemed to know better than to open its mouth too much. It snapped at Thalia, slashing with its claws. It even kept its eyes narrowing to tiny slits.

Thalia jabbed at the monster and backed up. The lion pressed her.

"Perci," she called, "whatever you're going to do-"

The lion roared and swatted her like a cat toy, sending her flying into the side of a Titan rocket. Her head hit the metal and she slid to the floor.

"Hey!" I yelled at the lion. I was too far away to strike, so I took a risk: I hurled Riptide like a throwing knife. It bounced off the lion's side, but that was enough to get the monster's attention. It turned toward me and snarled.

There was only one way to get close enough. I charged, and as the lion leaped to intercept me, I chucked a space food pouch into its maw-a chuck of cellophane-wrapped, freeze-dried strawberry parfait.

The lion's eyes got wide and it gagged like a cat with a hairball.

I couldn't blame it. I remembered feeling the same way when I'd tried to eat space food as a kid. The stuff was just plain nasty.

"Zoë, get ready!" I yelled.

Behind me, I could hear people screaming. Gretel was singing something very loudly as I couldn't hear what.

I scrambled away from the lion. It managed to choke down the space food packet and looked at me with pure hate.

"Snack time!" I yelled.

It made the mistake of roaring at me, and I got an ice-cream sandwich in its throat. Fortunately, I had always been a pretty good pitcher, even though baseball, or softball for that matter, wasn't me game. Before the lion could stop gagging, I shot in two more flavors of ice cream and a freeze-dried spaghetti dinner.

The lion's eyes bugged. It opened its mouth wide and reared up on its back paws, trying to get away from me.

"Now!" I yelled.

Immediately, arrows pierced the lion's maw-two, four, six. The lion thrashed wildly, turned, and fell backward. And then it was still.

Alarms wailed throughout the museum. People were flocking to the exits. Security guards were running around in a panic with no idea what was going on.

Gretel knelt at Thalia's side and helped her up. She seemed okay, just a little dazed. Zoë and Bianca dropped from the balcony and landed next to me.

Zoë eyed me cautiously, yet smiled a little. "That was...an interesting strategy."

"Hey, it worked."

She didn't argue.

The lion seemed to be melting, the way dead monsters do sometimes, until there was nothing left but its glittering fur coat, and even that seemed to be shrinking to the size of a normal lion's pelt.

"Take it," Zoë told me.

I stared at her. "What, the lion's fur? Isn't that, like, an animal rights violation or something?"

"It is a spoil of war," she told me. "It is rightly thine."

"You killed it," I said.

She shook her head, almost smiling more. "I think thy ice-cream sandwich did that. Fair is fair, Perci Jackson. Take the fur."

I lifted it up: it was surprisingly light. The fur was smooth and soft. It didn't feel like something that could stop a blade. As I watched, the pelt shifted and changed into a coat-a full-length golden-brown duster.

"Not exactly my style," I murmured.

"We have to get out of here," Gretel said. "The security guards won't stay confused for long."

I noticed for the first time how strange it was that the guards hadn't rushed forward to arrest us. They were scrambling in all directions except ours, like they were madly searching for something. A few were running into the walls or each other.

"You did that?" I asked Gretel.

She nodded, looking a little embarrassed. "A minor confusion song. I sang some Barry Manilow. It works every time. But it'll only last a few seconds."

"The security guards are not our biggest worry," Zoë said. "Look."

Through the glass walls of the museum, I could see a group of men walking across the lawn. Gray men in gray camouflage outfits. They were too far away for us to see their eyes, but I could feel their gaze aimed straight at me.

"Go," I said. "They'll be hunting me. I'll distract them."

"No," Zoë said. "We go together."

I stared at her. "But, you said-"

"You are part of this quest now," Zoë said. "I do not like it, but there is no changing fate. _You_ are the fifth quest member. And we are not leaving anyone behind."


	11. Gretel Gets a Lamborghini

[A/N: I'm SO SO sorry about the long waits, everybody! Lately, I've been up in my own world and taking a long time to rewrite my Dani Phantom stories to correct them. I swear I'm not gonna abandon my unfinished stories until they were completed. Again, I'm so sorry!]

 **Chapter 11**

Gretel Gets a Lamborghini

We were crossing the Potomac when we spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, black military model just like the one we'd seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight towards us.

"They know the van," I said. "We have to ditch it."

Zoë swerved into the fast line. The helicopter was gaining.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down," Gretel said hopefully.

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," I said. "How can the General use mortals, anyway?"

"Mercenaries," Zoë said bitterly. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

"But don't these mortals see who they're working for?" I asked. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

Zoë shook her head. "I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than we were through D.C. traffic.

Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard. "Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?"

But the sky stayed gray and snowy. No sign of a helpful thunderstorm.

"There!" Bianca said. "That parking lot!"

"We'll be trapped," Zoë said.

"Trust me," Bianca said.

Zoë shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. We left the van and followed Bianca down some steps.

"Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

We bought our tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind us for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later we were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As our train came above ground, we could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after us.

Gretel let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here when we used to live in D.C."

Gretel frowned. "New? But that station looked really old."

"I guess," Bianca said. "But trust me, when we lived here as little kids, there was no subway."

Thalia sat forward. "Wait a minute. No subway at all?"

Bianca nodded.

Now, I knew nothing about D.C., but I didn't see how their whole subway system could be less than twelve years old. I guess everyone else was thinking the same thing, because they looked pretty confused.

"Bianca," Zoë said. "How long ago…" Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.

"We need to change trains," I said. "Next station."

Over the next half hour, all we thought about was getting away safely. We changed trains twice. I had no idea where we were going, but after a while we lost the helicopter.

Unfortunately, when we finally got off the train we found ourselves at the end of the line, in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks. And snow. Lots of snow. It seemed much colder here. I was glad for my new lion's fur coat.

We wandered through the railway yard, thinking there might be another passenger train somewhere, but there were just rows of freight cars, most of which were covered in snow, like they hadn't moved in years.

A homeless guy was standing at a trash-can fire. We must've looked pretty pathetic, because he gave us a toothless grin and said, "Y'all ladies need to get warmed up? Come on over!"

We huddled around his fire. Thalia's teeth were chattering. She said, "Well this is g-g-g-great."

"My feet are frozen," Gretel complained.

"Maybe we should contact camp." Bianca said. "Chiron-"

"No," Zoë said. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves."

I gazed miserably around the rail yard. Somewhere, far to the west, Anthony was in danger, Artemis was in chains. A doomsday monster was on the loose. And we were stuck on the outskirts of D.C., sharing a homeless person's fire.

"You know," the homeless man said, "you're never completely without friends." His face was grimy and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly. "You ladies need a train going west?"

"Yes, sir," I said. "You know of any?"

He pointed one greasy hand.

Suddenly I noticed a freight train, gleaming and free of snow. It was one of those automobile-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a triple-deck of cars inside. The side of the freight train said SUN WEST LINE.

"That's...convenient," Thalia said. "Thanks, uh…"

She turned to the homeless guy, but he was gone. The trash can in front of us was cold and empty, as if he's taken the flames with him.

* * *

An hour later we were rumbling west. There was no problem about who would drive now, because we all got our own luxury car. Zoë and Bianca were crashed out in a Lexus on the top deck. Gretel was playing race car driver behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. And Thalia had hot-wired the radio in a black Mercedes SLK so she could pick up the alt-rock stations from D.C.

"Join you?" I asked her.

She shrugged, so I climbed into the shotgun seat.

The radio was playing the White Stripes. I knew the song because it was one of the only CDs I owned that my mom liked. She said it reminded her of Led Zeppelin. Thinking about my mom made me sad, because it didn't seem likely I'd be home for Christmas. I might not live that long.

"Nice coat," Thalia told me.

I pulled the brown duster around me, thankful for the warmth. "Yeah, but the Nemean Lion wasn't the monster we're looking for."

"Not even close. We've got a long way to go."

"Whatever this mystery monster is, the General said it would come for you. They wanted to isolate you from the group, so the monster will appear and battle you one-on-one."

"He said that?"

"Well, something like that. Yeah."

"That's great. I love being used as bait."

"No idea what the monster might be?"

She shook her head morosely. "But you know where we're going, don't you? San Francisco. That's where Artemis was heading."

I remembered something Anthony had said at the dance: how his dad was moving to San Francisco, and there was no way he could go. Half-bloods couldn't live there.

"Why?" I asked. "What's so bad about San Francisco?"

"The Mist is really thick there because the Mountain of Despair is so near. Titan magic-what's left of it-still lingers. Monsters are attracted to that area like you wouldn't believe."

"What's the Mountain of Despair?"

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "You really don't know? Ask stupid Zoë. She's the expert."

She glared out the windshield. I wanted to ask her what she was talking about, but I also didn't want to sound like an idiot. I hated feeling like Thalia knew more than I did, so I kept my mouth shut.

The afternoon sun shone through the steel-mesh side of the freight car, casting a shadow across Thalia's face. I thought about how different she was from Zoë-Zoë all formal and aloof like a princess, Thalia with her ratty clothes and her rebel attitude. But there was something similar about them, too. The same kind of toughness. Right now, sitting in the shadows with a gloomy expression, Thalia looked a lot like one of the Hunters.

Then suddenly, it hit me: "That's why you don't get along with Zoë."

Thalia frowned. "What?"

"The Hunters tried to recruit you," I guessed.

Her eyes got dangerously bright. I thought she was going to zap me out of the Mercedes, but she just sighed.

"I almost joined them," she admitted. "Luke, Anthony, and I ran into them once, and Zoë tried to convince me. She almost did, but…"

"But?"

Thalia's fingers gripped the wheel. "I would've had to leave Luke."

"Oh."

"Zoë and I got into a fight. She told me I was being stupid. She said I'd regret my choice. She said Luke would let me down someday...and Anthony would, too."

I watched the sun through the metal curtain. We seemed to be traveling faster each second-shadows flickering like an old movie projector.

"That's harsh," I said. "Hard to admit Zoë was right about Luke."

"She _wasn't_ right! Luke _never_ let me down. Never."

"We'll have to fight him," I said. "There's no way around it."

Thalia didn't answer.

"You haven't seen him lately," I warned. "I know it's hard to believe, but-"

"I'll do what I have to do."

"Even if that means killing him?" Thalia gave me a small glare before looking back out in her windshield again. "That's what I thought. I'm gonna go now."

When I was about to leave, she said, "Perci."

When I looked back, her eyes were red, but I couldn't tell if it was from anger or sadness. "Gretel never wanted to join the Hunters either. Maybe you should ask her why. She's your best friend after all."

Before I could respond, she raised the power windows and shut me out.

* * *

I sat in the driver's seat of Gretel's Lamborghini. Gretel was asleep in the back. I never got a chance to ask her about why she never wanted to join the Hunters, but I just guessed I could wait until later. I also wanted to know why they even though they never asked, but why they secretly wanted to recruit me.

As I watched the sun go down, I thought of Anthony. I was afraid to go to sleep. I was worried what I might dream.

"Oh, don't be afraid of dreams, sweetheart," a voice said right next to me.

I looked over. Somehow, I wasn't surprised to find the homeless guy from the rail yard sitting in the shotgun seat. His jeans were so worn out they were almost white. HIs coat was ripped, with stuffing coming out. He looked kind of like a teddy bear that had been run over by a truck.

"If it weren't for dreams," he said, "I wouldn't know half the things I know about the future. They're better than Olympus tabloids." He cleared his throat, then held up his hands dramatically:

" _Dreams like a podcast,_

 _Downloading truth in my ears._

 _They tell me cool stuff."_

"Apollo?" I guessed, because I figured nobody else could make a haiku that bad.

He put his finger to his lips. "I'm incognito. Call me Fred."

"A god named Fred?"

"Eh, well...Zeus insists on certain rules. Hands off, when there's a human quest. Even when something really major is wrong. But nobody messes with my baby sister. _Nobody_."

"Can you help us, then?"

"Shhh. I already have. Haven't you been looking outside?"

"The train. How fast are we moving?"

Apollo chuckled. "Fast enough. Unfortunately, we're running out of time. It's almost sunset. But I imagine we'll get you across a good chunk of America, at least."

"But where is Artemis?"

His face darkened. "I know a lot, and I see a lot. But even I don't know that. She's...clouded from me. I don't like it."

"And Anthony?"

He frowned. "Oh, you mean that boy you lost? Hmm. I don't know."

I tried not to feel mad. I knew the gods had a hard time taking mortals seriously, even half-bloods. We lived such short lives, compared to the gods.

"What about the monster Artemis was seeking?" I asked. "Do you know what it is?"

"No," Apollo said. "But there is one who might. If you haven't yet found the monster when you reach San Francisco, seek out Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea. He has a long memory and a sharp eye. He has the gift of knowledge sometimes kept obscure from my Oracle."

"But it's _your_ Oracle," I protested. "Can't you tell us what the prophecy means?"

Apollo laughed. "You might as well ask an artist to explain his art, or ask a poet to explain his poem. It defeats the purpose. The meaning is only clear through the search."

"In other words, you don't know."

Apollo checked his watch. "Ah, look at the time! I have to run. I doubt I can risk helping you again, Perci, but remember what I said! Get some sleep! And when you return, I expect a good haiku about your journey!"

I wanted to protest that I wasn't tired and I'd never made up a haiku in my life, but Apollo snapped his fingers, and the next thing I knew I was closing my eyes.

* * *

In my dream, I was somebody else. I was wearing silk silver robes, and my hair was dark and long, braided down. I was pulling along a man and I was tightly gripping his hand. He had long, messy hair, wearing an old-fashioned Greek tunic, which looked a little too breezy, and laced leather sandals. The Nemean Lion's skin was wrapped around his back like a cape, and I was dragging him somewhere.

"Hurry!" I said. I sounded like I was afraid of something coming our way. "He will find us!"

It was nighttime. A million stars blazed above. We were running through tall grass, and the scent of a thousand different flowers made the air intoxicating. It was a beautiful garden, and yet the I was leading the man through it, as if we were about to die.

"I'm not afraid," he tried to tell me.

"You should be!" I said, pulling him along. My robes glowed faintly in the starlight.

We raced up the side of the hill. I pulled him behind a thorn bush and we collapsed, both breathing heavily. I didn't know why I was scared. The garden seemed so peaceful. And I felt like I knew what we were running from and how to escape it.

"There is no need to run," the man told me. His voice sounded deep and much more confident. "I have bested a thousand monsters with my bare hands."

"Not this one," I said. "Ladon is too strong. You must go around, up the mountain to my father. It is the only way."

The hurt in my voice surprised me. I was really concerned, almost like I cared about him.

"I don't trust your father," he said.

"You should not," I agreed. "You will have to trick him. But you cannot take the prize directly. You will die!"

The man chuckled. "Then why don't you help me, pretty one?"

"I...I am afraid. Ladon will stop me. My sisters, if they found out...they would disown me."

"Then there's nothing for it." He stood up, rubbing his hands together.

"Wait!" I said.

I seemed to be agonizing over a decision. Then, my fingers trembled, I reached up and plucked a long white brooch from my hair. "If you must fight, take this. My mother, Pleione, gave it to me. She was a daughter of the ocean, and the ocean's power is within it. _My_ immortal power."

I breathed on the pin and it glowed faintly. It gleamed in the starlight like polished abalone.

"Take it," I said. "And make of it a weapon."

He laughed. "A hairpin? How will this slay Ladon, pretty one?"

"It may not," I admitted. "But it is all I can offer, if you insist on being stubborn."

My voice seemed to soften his heart. He reached down and took the hairpin, and as he did, it grew longer and heavier in his hand, until he held a familiar bronze sword.

"Well balanced," he said. "Though I usually prefer to use my bare hands. What shall I name this blade?"

"Anaklusmos," I said sadly. "The current that takes one by surprise. And before you know it, you have been swept out to sea."

Before he could thank me, there was a trampling sound in the grass, a hiss like air escaping a tire, and I said, "Too late! He is here!"

* * *

I sat bolt upright in the Lamborghini's driver's seat. Gretel was shaking my arm.

"Perci," she said. "It's morning. The train's stopped. Come on!"

I tried to shake off my drowsiness. Thalia, Zoë, and Bianca had already rolled up the metal curtains. Outside were snowy mountains dotted with pine trees, the sun rising red between two peaks.

I fished my pen out of my pocket and stared at it. _Anaklusmos_ , the Ancient Greek name for Riptide. A different form, but I was sure it was the same blade I'd seen in my dream.

And I was sure of something else, too. The girl I was was Zoë Nightshade.


	12. I Go Snowboarding with a Pig

**Chapter 12**

I Go Snowboarding with a Pig

We'd arrived on the outskirts of a little ski town nestled in the mountains. The sign said WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The air was cold and thin. The roofs of the cabins were heaped with snow, and dirty mounds of it were piled up on the sides of the streets. Tall pine trees loomed over the valley, casting pitch-black shadows, though the morning was sunny.

Even with the lion-skin coat, I was freezing by the time we got to Main Street, which was about half a mile from the train tracks. As we walked, I told Gretel about my conversation with Apollo the night before-how he'd told me to seek out Nereus in San Francisco. I still didn't ask her about why she didn't join the Hunters before.

Gretel looked uneasy. "That's good, I guess. But we've got to get there first."

I tried not to get too depressed about our chances. I didn't want to send Gretel into a panic, but I knew we had another huge deadline looming, aside from saving Artemis in time for her council of the gods. The General had said Anthony would only be kept alive until the winter solstice. That was Friday, only four days away. And he'd said something about a sacrifice. I didn't like the sound of that at all.

We stopped in the middle of town. You could pretty much see everything from there: a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.

"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis, No car rental. No way out."

"There's a coffee shop!" said Gretel.

"Yes," Zoë said. "Coffee is good."

"And pastries," Gretel said dreamily.

Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you two go get us some food. Perci, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."

We agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes. Bianca looked a little uncomfortable coming with us, but she did.

Inside the store, we found out a few valuable things about Cloudcroft: there wasn't enough snow for skiing, the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar each, and there was no easy way in or out of town unless you had your own car.

"You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo," the clerk said doubtfully. "That's down at the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Cost several hundred dollars."

The clerk looked so lonely, I bought a rubber rat. Then we headed back outside and stood on the porch.

"Wonderful," Thalia grumped before looking at me. "How much money did you bring?"

"Uh...probably just enough to buy an emergency fast food order, but not for an hour taxi drive." I said.

"Okay. I'm going to walk down the street, see if anybody in the other shops has a suggestion."

"But the clerk said-"

"I know," she told me. "I'm checking anyway."

I let her go. I knew how it felt to be restless. All half-bloods had attention deficit problems because of our inborn battlefield reflexes. We couldn't stand just waiting around. Also, I had a feeling Thalia was still upset over our conversation last night about Luke.

Bianca and I stood together awkwardly. I mean...I never really have much to say to anyone I've just meet and I'd never been alone with Bianca before. I wasn't sure what to say, especially now that she was a Hunter and everything.

"Nice rat," she said at last.

I set it on the porch railing. Maybe it would attract more business for the store.

"So...how do you like being a Hunter so far?" I asked.

She pursed her lips. "You're not still mad at me for joining, are you?"

"Nah. Long as, you know...you're happy."

"I'm not sure 'happy' is the right word, with Lady Artemis gone. But being a Hunter is definitely cool. I feel calmer somehow. Everything seems to have slowed down around me. I guess that's the immortality."

I stared at her, trying to see the difference. She did seem more confident than before, more at peace. She didn't hide her face under a green cape anymore. She kept her hair tied back, and she looked me right in the eyes when she spoke. With a shiver, I realized that five hundred or a thousand years from now, Bianca di Angelo would look exactly the same as she did today. Kind of makes me think of what would it feel like if I was a Hunter, but I didn't want to know, because being a Hunter has a lot of girly rules, so I would prefer being myself. Bianca might be having a conversation like this with some other half-blood after I was dead, but she would still look twelve years old.

"Nico didn't understand my decision," Bianca murmured. She looked at me like she wanted assurance it was okay.

"He'll be all right," I said. "Camp Half-Blood takes in a lot of young kids. They did that for Anthony."

Bianca nodded. "I know I'm supposed to hate boys, but I hope we find him. Anthony, I mean. He's lucky to have a friend like you."

"Lot of good it did him."

"Don't blame yourself, Perci. You risked your life to save my brother and me. I mean, that was seriously brave. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have felt okay about leaving Nico at the camp. I figured if there were people like you there, Nico would be fine. You're a good girl."

The complement took me by surprise. "Even though I knocked you down in capture the flag and Gretel tied you up with plants?"

She laughed. "Okay. Except for that, you're a good girl."

A couple hundred yards away, Gretel and Zoë came out of the coffee shop loaded down with pastry bags and drinks. I kind of didn't want them to come back yet. It was weird, but I realized I liked talking to Bianca. She wasn't so bad. A lot easier to hang out with then Zoë Nightshade, anyway.

"So what's the story with you and Nico?" I asked her. "Where did you go to school before Westover?"

She frowned. "I think it was a boarding school in D.C. It seems like so long ago."

"You never lived with your parents? I mean, your mortal parent?"

"We were told our parents were dead. There was a bank trust for us. A lot of money, I think. A lawyer would come by once in a while to check on us. Then Nico and I had to leave that school."

"Why?"

She knit her eyebrows. "We had to go somewhere. I remember it was important. We traveled a long way. And we stayed in this hotel for a few weeks. And then...I don't know. One day a different lawyer came to get us out. He said it was time for us to leave. He drove us back east, through D.C. Then up to Maine. And we started going to Westover."

It was a strange story. Then again, Bianca and Nico were half-bloods. Nothing would be normal for them.

"So you've been raising Nico pretty much all your life?" I asked. "Just the two of you?"

She nodded. "That's why I wanted to join the Hunters so bad. I mean, I know it's selfish, but I wanted my own life and friends. I love Nico-don't get me wrong-I just needed to find out what it would be like not to be a big sister twenty-four hours a day."

I thought about last summer, the way I'd felt when I found out I had a Cyclops for a baby brother. I could relate to what Bianca was saying.

"Well, enough about me, what about you, Perci? What's your story?" She asked me.

"Oh, well…" I began. No one ever asked me about my story, but Bianca seemed the understanding type. "I didn't exactly have a normal childhood either. Try living most of your childhood with a misogynic stepfather who reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts." I saw Bianca cringe like she was imagining what I was talking about. "And my mother is one of the nicest ladies you'll ever meet. I mean, she never says anything bad, she always lends a helping hand, and she cares more about love than fortune."

"Wow, I wish I could meet her. But, who's your stepfather?"

"Gabe Ugliano, and he's by far the loosest definition of human. Trust me. All he ever did was play poker, use his money mostly for gambling and root beer, smoke cigars, trash his entire apartment, and…" I took a deep breath. "He even treated my mom like a servant and me like a doll."

Bianca made a look of disbelief like she felt sorry I had to live through that. "Why would your mother marry someone like that?" She asked.

I shrugged. "At first, I asked myself the same thing, because I didn't know either." I looked back at Gretel, who was talking with Thalia, who just got out a shop, and Zoë. "But then my whole world turned upside down when I was your age."

"What happened? Didn't you even know you were a half-blood?"

"Not a clue. When my best friend, Gretel, found out I was a powerful one, she tried to escort me to Camp Half-Blood safely, but...I almost lost my mother that day, and I still have nightmares. I soon learned that my mom married Gabe, because she did for me. He smelled so repulsively human, that he could cover a scent of any half-blood, which means monsters would've tried to kill me a long time ago."

Bianca gave me a look of pity. "I'm sorry. Didn't it even scare you? What you can do?"

"I...don't honestly know yet. I mean, being a half-blood does sound like it's awesome, but it's very, very scary that for the rest of your life, you're hunted by monsters who can track your scent and many of them are killed trying to defend themselves. But then I went on these adventures with my friends, and I somehow found that rather...I don't know. Like that's supposed to be the real me."

"The real you that tries to get yourself killed?" Bianca asked sarcastically.

"Ha ha, very funny. I meant going on adventures with your friends, learning new stuff along the way, learning more about each other, making new friends, coming up with strategies and improvising them, arguing each other sometimes and then shrugging them aside, facing dangers and risks together, despite the odds. That's how Anthony, Gretel, and I are like. We stick together until the very end and we always have our backs to everything we've been through, just saving each other's lives and not just our own."

Bianca stared at me, fascinated. "Wow, your life sounds very exciting."

"Yeah? I couldn't get past a _minute_ without blowing up a national monument from a monster attack."

Bianca laughed.

Then Zoë and Gretel arrived with the drinks and pastries. Hot chocolate for Bianca and me. Coffee for them. I got a blueberry muffin, my favorite, and it was so good just how I like them.

"We should do the tracking spell," Zoë said. "Gretel, do you have any acorns left?"

"Umm," Gretel mumbled. "I think so. I just need to-"

She froze.

I was about to ask what was wrong, when a warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of springtime had gotten lost in the middle of winter. Fresh air seasoned with wildflowers and sunshine. And something else-almost like a voice, trying to say something. A warning.

Zoë gasped. "Gretel, thy cup."

Gretel dropped her coffee cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. Suddenly the birds peeled off the cup and flew away-a flock of tiny doves. My rubber rat squeaked. It scampered off the railing and into the trees-real fur, real whiskers.

Gretel collapsed next to her coffee, which steamed against the snow. We gathered around her and tried to wake her up. She groaned, her eyes fluttering.

"Hey!" Thalia said, running up from the street. "I just...What's wrong with Gretel?"

"I don't know," I said. "She collapsed."

"Uuuuuhhhh," Gretel groaned.

"Well, get her up!" Thalia said. She had her spear in her hand. She looked behind her as if she were being followed. "We have to get out of here."

* * *

We made it to the edge of the town before the first two skeleton warriors appeared. They stepped from the trees on either side of the road. Instead of grey camouflage, they were now wearing blue New Mexico State Police uniforms, but they had the same transparent gray skin and yellow eyes.

They drew their handguns. I'll admit I used to think it would be kind of cool to learn how to shoot a gun, but I changed my mind as soon as the skeleton warriors pointed theirs at me.

Thalia tapped her braclet. Aegis spiraled to life on her arm, but the warriors didn't flinch. Their glowing yellow eyes bored right to me.

I drew Riptide, though I wasn't sure what good it would do against guns.

Zoë and Bianca drew their bows, but Bianca was having trouble because Gretel kept swooning and leaning against her.

"Back up," Thalia said.

We started to-but then I heard a rustling of branches. Two more skeletons appeared on the road behind us. We were surrounded.

I wondered where the other skeletons were. I'd seen a dozen at the Smithsonian. Then one of the warriors raised a cell phone to his mouth and spoke into it.

Except he wasn't speaking. He made a clattering clicking sound, like dry teeth on bone. Suddenly I understood what was going on. The skeletons had split up to look for us. These skeletons were now calling their brethren. Soon we'd have a full party on our hands.

"It's near," Gretel moaned.

"It's here," I said.

"No," she insisted. "The gift. The gift of the Wild."

I didn't know what she was talking about, but I was worried about her condition. She was in no shape to walk, much less fight.

"We'll have to go one-on-one," Thalia said. "Four of them. Four of us. Maybe they'll ignore Gretel that way."

"Agreed," said Zoë.

"The Wild!" Gretel moaned.

A warm wind blew through the canyon, rustling the trees, but I kept my eyes on the skeletons. I remembered the General gloating over Anthony's fate. I remembered the way Luke had betrayed him.

And I charged.

The first skeleton fired. Time slowed down. I won't say I could see the bullet, but I could feel its bath, the same way I felt water currents in the ocean. I deflected it off the edge of my blade and kept charging.

The skeleton drew a baton and I sliced off his arms at the elbows. Then I swung Riptide through his waist and cut him in half.

HIs bones unknit and clattered to the asphalt in a heap. Almost immediately, they began to move, reassembling themselves. The second skeleton clattered his teeth at me and tried to fire, but I knocked his gun into the snow.

I thought I was doing pretty well, until the other two skeletons shot me in the back.

"Perci!" Thalia screamed.

I landed facedown in the street. Then I realized something...I wasn't dead. The impact of the bullets had been dull, like a push from behind, but they hadn't hurt me.

The Nemean Lion's fur! My coat was bulletproof.

Thalia charged the second skeleton. Zoë and Bianca started firing arrows at the third and fourth. Gretel stood there and held her hands out to the trees, looking like she wanted to hug them.

There was a crashing sound in the forest to our left, like a bulldozer. Maybe the skeletons' reinforcements were arriving. I got to my feet and ducked a police baton. The skeleton I'd cut in half was already fully re-formed, coming after me.

There was no way to stop them. Zoë and Bianca fried at their heads point-blank, but the arrows just whistled straight through their empty skulls. One lunged at Bianca, and I thought she was a goner, but she whipped out her hunting knife and stabbed the warrior in the chest. The whole skeleton erupted into flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge.

"How did you do that?" Zoë asked,

"I don't know," Bianca said nervously. "Lucky stab?"

"Well, do it again!"

Bianca tried, but the remaining three skeletons were wary of her now. They pressed us back, keeping us at baton's length.

"Plan?" I said as we retreated.

Nobody answered. The trees behind the skeletons were shivering. Branches were cracking.

"A gift," Gretel muttered.

And then, with a mighty roar, the largest pig I'd ever seen came crashing into the road. It was a wild boar, thirty feet high, with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. Its back bristled with brown hair, and its eyes were wild and angry.

" _REEEEEEEEET!_ " it squealed, and raked the three skeletons aside with its tusks. The force was so great, they went flying over the trees and into the side of the mountain, where they smashed to pieces, thigh bones and arm bones swirling everywhere.

Then the pig turned on us.

Thalia raised her spear, but Gretel yelled, "Don't kill it!"

The boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge.

"That's the Erymanthian Boar," Zoë said, trying to stay calm. "I don't think we _can_ kill it."

"It's a gift," Gretel said. "A blessing from the Wild!"

The boar said " _REEEEEET!_ " and swung its tuck. Zoë and Bianca dived out of the way. I had to push Gretel so she wouldn't get launched into the mountain on the Boar Tusk Express.

"Yeah, I feel blessed!" I said. "Scatter!"

We ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused.

"It wants to kill us!" Thalia said.

"Of course," Gretel said. "It's wild!"

"So how is that a blessing?" Bianca asked.

It seemed a fair question to me, but the pig was offended and charged her. She was faster than I'd realized. She rolled out of the way of its hooves and came up behind the beast. It lashed out with its tusks and pulverized the WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT sign.

I racked my brain, trying to remember the myth of the boar. I was pretty sure Hercules had fought this thing once, but I couldn't remember how he'd beaten it. I had a vague memory of the boar plowing down several Greek cities before Hercules managed to subdue it. I hoped Cloudcroft was insured against giant wild boar attacks.

"Keep moving!" Zoë yelled. She and Bianca ran in opposite directions. Gretel danced around the boar, singing to it while the boar snorted and tried to gouge her. But Thalia and I won the prize for bad luck. When the boar turned on us, Thalia made the mistake of raising Aegis in defense. The sight of the Medusa head made the boar squeal in outrage. Maybe it looked too much like one of his relatives. The boar charged us.

We only managed to keep ahead of it because we ran uphill, and we could dodge in and out of trees while the boar had to plow through them.

On the other side of the hill, I found an old stretch of train tracks, half buried in the snow.

"This way!" I grabbed Thalia's arm and we ran along the rails while the boar roared behind us, slipping and sliding as it tried to navigate the steep hillside. Its hooves just were not made for this, thank the gods.

Ahead of us, I saw a covered tunnel. Past that, an old trestle bridge spanning a gorge. I had a crazy idea.

"Follow me!"

Thalia slowed down-I didn't have time to ask why-but I pulled her along and she reluctantly followed. Behind is, a ten-ton pig tank was knocking down pine trees and crushing boulders under its hooves as it chased us.

Thalia and I ran into the tunnel and came out on the other side.

"No!" Thalia screamed.

She'd turned as white as ice. We were at the edge of the bridge. Below, the mountain dropped away into a snow-filled gorge about seventy feet below.

The boar was right behind us.

"Come on!" I said. "It'll hold our weight, probably."

"I can't!" Thalia yelled. Her eyes were wild with fear.

The boar smashed into the covered tunnel, tearing through at full speed.

"Now!" I yelled at Thalia.

She looked down and swallowed. I swear she was turning green.

I didn't have time to process why. The boar was charging through the tunnel, straight toward us. Plan B. I tackled Thalia and sent us both sideways off the edge of the bridge, into the side of the mountain. We slid on Aegis like a snowboard, over rocks and mud and snow, racing downhill. The boar was less fortunate; it couldn't turn that fast, so all ten tons of the monster charged out onto the tiny trestle, which buckled under its weight. The boar free-fell into the gorge with a mighty squeal and landed in a snowdrift with a huge _POOOOOF!_

Thalia and I skidded to a stop. We were both breathing hard. I was cut up and bleeding. Thalia and I both had pine needles in our hair. Next to us, the wild boar was squealing and struggling. All I could see was the bristly tip of its back. It was wedged completely in the snow like Styrofoam packing. It didn't seem to be hurt, but it wasn't going anywhere, either.

I looked at Thalia. "You're afraid of heights."

Now that we were safely down the mountain, her eyes had their usual angry look. "Don't be stupid."

"That explains why you freaked out on Apollo's bus. Why you didn't want to talk about it."

She took a deep breath. Then she brushed the pine needles out of her hair. "If you tell anyone, I swear-"

"No, no," I said as I brush my pine needles out of my hair. "That's cool. It's just...the daughter of Zeus, the Lord of the Sky, afraid of heights?"

She was about to knock me into the snow when, above us, Gretel's voice called, "Helloooooo?"

"Down here!" I shouted.

A few minutes later, Zoë, Bianca, and Gretel joined us. We stood watching the wild boar struggle in the snow.

"A blessing of the WIld," Gretel said, though she now looked agitated.

"I agree," Zoë said. "We must use it."

"Hold up," Thalia said irritably. She still looked like she'd just lost a fight with a Christmas tree. "Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing."

Gretel looked over, distracted. "It's our ride west. Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?"

"Fun," I said. "Like...pig cowboys."

Gretel nodded. "We need to get aboard. I wish...I wish I had more time to look around. But it's gone now."

"What's gone?"

Gretel didn't seem to hear me. She walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back. Already the boar was starting to make some head way through the drift. Once it broke free, there'd be no stopping it. Gretel created an apple and began humming a snappy tune and tossed the apple in front of the boar. The apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it.

"Automatic steering," Thalia murmured. "Great."

She trudged over and jumped on behind Gretel, which still left plenty of room for the rest of us.

Zoë and Bianca walked toward the boar.

"Wait a second," I said. "Do you two know what Gretel is talking about-this wild blessing?"

"Of course," Zoë said. "Did you not feel it in the wind? It was so strong...I never thought I would sense that presence again."

"What presence?"

She stared at me like I was an idiot. "The Lord of the Wild, of course. Just for a moment, in the arrival of the boar, I felt the presence of Pan."


	13. We Visit the Junkyard of the Gods

**Chapter 13**

We Visit the Junkyard of the Gods

We rode the boar until sunset, which was about as much as my back end could take. Imagine riding a giant steel brush over a bed of gravel all day. That's how comfortable boar-riding was.

I have no idea how many miles we covered, but the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat, dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until we were galloping (do boars gallop?) across the desert.

As night fell, the boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. He started drinking the muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all.

"This is as far as he'll go," Gretel said. "We need to get off while he's eating."

Nobody needed convincing. We slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping up cacti. Then we waddled away as best we could with our saddle sores.

After its third saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, then whirled around and galloped back toward the east.

"It likes the mountains better," I guessed.

"I can't blame it," Thalia said. "Look."

Ahead of us was a two-lane road half covered with sand. On the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings too small to be a town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop that looked like it hadn't been open since before Zoë Nightshade was born, and a white stucco post office with a sigh that said GILA CLAW, ARIZONA hanging crooked above the door. Beyond that was a range of hills...but then I noticed they weren't regular hills. The countryside was way too flat for that. The hills were enormous mounds of old cars, appliances, and other scrap metal. It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.

"Whoa," I said.

"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia said. She looked at Gretel. "I don't suppose you got another wild boar up your sleeve?"

Gretel was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. She fished out her acorns and threw them into the sand, then hummed a song. They rearranged themselves in a pattern that made no sense to me, but Gretel looked concerned.

"That's us," she said. "Those five nuts right there."

"Which one is me?" I asked.

"The little deformed one," Zoë suggested.

"Oh, shut up."

"That cluster right there," Gretel said, pointing to the left, "that's trouble."

"A monster?" Thalia asked.

Gretel looked uneasy. "I don't smell anything, which doesn't make sense. But the acorns don't lie. Our next challenge…"

She pointed straight toward the junkyard. With the sunlight almost gone now, the hills of metal looked like something on an alien planet.

* * *

We decided to camp for the night and try the junkyard in the morning. None of us wanted to go Dumpster-diving in the dark.

Zoë and Bianca produced five sleeping bags and foam mattresses out of their backpacks. I don't know how they did it, because the packs were tiny, but must've been enchanted to hold so much stuff. I'd noticed their bows and quivers were also magic. I never really thought about it, but when the Hunters needed them, they just appeared slung over their backs. And when they didn't, they were gone.

The night got chilly fast, so Gretel and I collected old boards from the ruined house, and Thalia zapped them with an electric shock to start a campfire. Pretty soon we were about as comfy as you can get in a rundown ghost town in the middle of nowhere.

"The stars are out," Zoë said.

She was right. There were millions of them, with no city lights to turn the sky orange.

"Amazing," Bianca said. "I've never actually seen the Milky Way."

"This is nothing," Zoë said. "In the old days, there were more. Whole constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution."

"You talk like you're not human," I said.

Zoë raised an eyebrow. "I am a Hunter. I care what happens to the wild places of the world. Can the same be said for thee?"

"For _you_ ," Thalia corrected. "Not _thee_."

"But you use _you_ for the beginning of a sentence."

"And for the end," Thalia said. "No _thou_. No _thee_. Just _you_."

Zoë threw up her hands in exasperation. "I _hate_ this language. It changes too often!"

Gretel sighed. She was still looking up at the stars like she was thinking about the light pollution problem. "If only Pan were here, he would set things right."

Zoë nodded sadly.

"Maybe it was the coffee," Gretel said. "I was drinking coffee, and the wind came. Maybe if I drank more coffee…"

I was pretty sure coffee had nothing to do with what happened in Cloudcroft, but I didn't have the heart to tell Gretel. I thought about the rubber rat and the tiny birds that had suddenly come alive when the wind blew. "Gretel, do you really think that was Pan? I mean, I know you _want_ it to be."

"He sent us help," Gretel insisted. "I don't know how or why. But it was his presence. After this quest is done, I'm going back to New Mexico and drinking a lot of coffee. It's the best lead we've gotten in two thousand years. I was _so close_."

I didn't answer. I didn't want to squash Gretel's hopes.

"What I want to know," Thalia said, looking at Bianca, "is how you destroyed one of the zombies. There are a lot more out there somewhere. We need to figure out how to fight them."

Bianca shook her head. "I don't know. I just stabbed it and it went up in flames."

"Maybe there's something special about your knife," I said.

"It is the same as mine," Zoë said. "Celestial bronze, yes. But mine did not affect the warriors that way."

"Maybe you have to hit the skeleton in a certain spot," I said.

Bianca looked uncomfortable with everybody paying attention to her.

"Never mind," Zoë told her. "We will find the answer. In the meantime, we should plan our next move. When we get through this junkyard, we must continue west. If we can find a road, we can hitchhike to the nearest city. I think that would be Las Vegas."

I was about to protest that Gretel and I had had bad experiences in that town, but Bianca beat us to that.

"No!" she said. "Not there!"

She looked really freaked out, like she'd just been dropped off the steep end of a roller coaster.

Zoë frowned. "Why?"

Bianca took a shaky breath. "I...I think we stayed there for a while. Nico and I. When we were traveling. And then, I can't remember…"

Suddenly I had a really bad thought. I remembered what Bianca had told me about Nico and her staying in a hotel for a while. I met Gretel's eyes, and I got the feeling she was thinking the same thing.

"Bianca," I said. "That hotel you stayed at. Was it possibly called the Lotus Hotel and Casino?"

Her eyes widened. "How could you know that?"

"Oh, great," I said.

"Wait," Thalia said. "What is the Lotus Casino?"

"It's the lair of the lotus eaters who've been luring people into their traps since ancient times," I said, "a couple years ago, Gretel, Anthony, and I got trapped there. It's designed so you never want to leave. We stayed for about an hour. When we came out, five days had passed. It makes time sped up."

"No," Bianca said. "No, that's not possible."

"That exactly what I said. You said somebody came and got you out," I remembered.

"Yes."

"What did he look like? What did he say?"

"I...I don't remember. Please, I really don't want to talk about this."

Zoë sat forward, her eyebrows knit with concern. "You said the Washington, D.C., had changed when you went back last summer. You didn't remember the subway being there."

"Yes, but-"

"Bianca," Zoë said, "can you tell me the name of the president of the United States right now?"

"Don't be silly," Bianca said. She told us the correct name of the president.

"And who was the president before that?" Zoë asked.

Bianca thought for a while. "Roosevelt."

Zoë swallowed. "Theodore or Franklin?"

"Franklin," Bianca said. "F.D.R."

"Like F.D.R. Drive?" I asked. Because seriously, that's about all I knew about F.D.R.

"Bianca," Zoë said. "F.D.R. was not the last president. That was about seventy years ago."

"That's impossible," Bianca said. "I...I'm not that old."

She stared at her hands as if to make sure they weren't wrinkled.

Thalia's eyes turned sad. I guess she knew what it was like to get pulled out of time for a while. "It's okay, Bianca. The important thing is you and Nico are safe. You made it out."

"But how?" I said. "We were only in there for an hour and we barely escaped, even when the guards attacked us. How could you have escaped after being there for so long?"

"I told you." Bianca looked about ready to cry. "A man came and said it was time to leave. And-"

"But who? Why did he do it?"

Before she could answer, we were hit with a blazing light from down the road. The headlights of a car appeared out of nowhere. I was half hoping it was Apollo, come to give us a ride again, but the engine was way too silent for the sun chariot, and besides, it was nighttime. We grabbed our sleeping bags and got out of the way as a deathly white limousine slid to a stop in front of us.

* * *

The back door of the limo opened right next to me. Before I could step away, the point of a sword pointed my throat.

I could hear the sound of Zoë and Bianca drawing their bows. As the owner of the sword got out of the car, I moved back very slowly. I had to, because he was pushing the point under my chin.

He smiled at me cruelly. "Not so fast now, are you, princess?"

He was a big man with a crew cut, a black leather biker's jacket, black jeans, a white muscle shirt and combat boots. Wraparound shades hid his eyes, but I knew what was behind those glasses-hollow sockets filled with flames.

"Ares," I growled.

The war god glanced at my friends. "At ease, ladies."

He snapped his fingers, and their weapons fell to the ground.

"This is a friendly meeting." He dug the point of his blade a little farther under my chin. "Of course I'd like to take your head for a trophy, but someone wants to see you. And I never behead my enemies in front of a lady, especially if my enemy is one."

"What lady?" Thalia asked.

Ares looked over at her. "Well, well. I heard you were back."

He lowered his sword and pushed me away.

"Thalia, daughter of Zeus," Ares mused. "You're not hanging out with very good company."

"What's your business, Ares?" she said. "Who's in the car?"

Ares smiled, enjoying the attention. "Oh, I doubt she wants to meet the rest of you. Particularly not them." He uttered his chin toward Zoë and Bianca. "Why don't you all go get some tacos while you wait? Only take Perci a few minutes."

"We will not leave her alone with thee, Lord Ares," Zoë said.

"Besides," Gretel managed, "the taco place is closed."

Ares snapped his fingers again. The lights inside the taqueria suddenly blazed to life. The boards flew off the door and the CLOSED sign flipped to OPEN. "You were saying, twig nymph?" That made Gretel offended.

"Go on," I told my friends. "I'll handle this."

"You heard the girl," Ares said. "She's lean and strong. She's got things under control."

My friends reluctantly headed over to the taco restaurant. Ares regarded me with loathing, then opened the limousine door like a chauffeur. "Get inside, princess," he said. "And mind your manners. She's not as forgiving of rudeness as I am."

* * *

When I saw her, I stared at her dumbfounded. If a boy were to glance at her the second they see her, his jaws would drop.

She was wearing a red satin dress and her hair was curled in a cascade of ringlets. Her face was the most beautiful I'd ever seen: perfect makeup, dazzling eyes, a smile that would've it up the dark side of the moon.

Thinking back on it, I can't tell you who she looked like. Or even what color her hair or her eyes were. Pick the most beautiful actress you can think of. The goddess was ten times more beautiful than that. Pick your favorite hair color, eye color, whatever. The goddess had that.

When she smiled at me, just for a moment e looked little like me. Then like this television actress I used to idolize in the fifth grade. Then...well, you get the idea.

"Ah, there you are, Perci," the goddess said. "I am Aphrodite."

I slipped into the seat across from her and I said, "Um...hi."

She smiled. "Aren't you sweet. Hold this, please."

She handed me a polished mirror the size of a dinner plate and had me hold it up for her She leaned forward and dabbed at her lipstick, though I couldn't see anything wrong with it.

"Do you know why you're here?" she asked.

Now if I were a boy, I'd being gibberish like an idiot, but at least I can admire a woman's looks and form a sentence.

"I...don't know." I said. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well then, why are you on this quest?"

"I have to save Artemis, she's in trouble!"

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Oh, Artemis. Please Talk about a hopeless case. I mean, if they were going to kidnap a goddess, she should breathtakingly beautiful, don't you think? I pity the poor dears who have to imprison Artemis. Bo-ring! And I find it brave that you turned down her request, especially that wood nymph."

"I know, but she was chasing a monster," I protested. "And we have to find before-"

Aphrodite made me hold the mirror a little higher. She seemed to have found a microscopic problem at the corner of her eye and dabbed t her mascara. "Always some monster. But my dear Perci, that is why the others are on this quest. I'm more interested in you."

My heart pounded. I didn't want to answer, even if it felt like she already knew the answer, but her eyes drew an answer right out of my mouth. "Anthony is in trouble!"

Aphrodite beamed. "Exactly!"

"I have to help him," I said. "I've been having see dreams."

"Ah, you even dream about him! That's so cute!"

"No! I mean...that's not what I meant."

She made _tsk-tsk_ sound. "Persephone, I'm on your side. I'm the reason you're here, after all."

I stared at her. "What?"

"The poisoned T-shirt the Stoll brothers gave Phoebe," she said. "Did you think that was an accident? Sending Twilight to find you? Helping you sneak out of the camp?"

"You did that?"

"Of course! Because really, how boring these Hunters are! A quest for some monster, blah blah blah. Saving Artemis. Let her stay lost, I say. But a quest for true love-"

"Wait a second, I never said-"

"Oh, my dear. You don't need to say it. You do know Anthony was the one who found out that Hunter's wanted to recruit you as their own, don't you?"

I blushed. "I wasn't sure-"

"If he had never asked a friend to hide the brochure from you, you would've thrown your whole life away! But he, my dear, he's trying to save you from that. I's so romantic!"

"Uh..."

"Oh, put the mirror down," Aphrodite ordered. "I look fine."

I hadn't realized I was still holding it, but as soon as I put it down, I noticed my arms were sore.

"Now listen, Perci," Aphrodite said. "The Hunters are your enemies. Forget them and Artemis and the monster That's not important. You just concentrate on finding and saving Anthony."

I swallowed hard. "You mean...that he's..."

The goddess nodded as she smiled, I like she knew what I was trying to ask.

"Do you know where he is?"

Aphrodite waved her hand irritably. "No, no. I leave the details o you. But it's been ages since we've had a good tragic love story."

"Whoa, first of all, I never said anything about love. And second, what's up with tragic?"

"Love conquers all," Aphrodite promised. "Look at Helen and Paris Did they let anything one between them?"

"Didn't they start the Trojan War and get thousands of people killed?"

"Pfft. That's not the point. Follow your heart."

"But...I don't know where it's going. My heart, I mean"  
She smiled sympathetically. She really was beautiful. And not just because she had a pretty face or anything She eleven in love so much, it was impossible not to feel giddy when she talked about it.

"Not knowing is half the fun," Aphrodite said. "Exquisitely painful, isn't it? Not being sure who you love or who loves you? Oh, you kids! It's so cute I'm going to cry."

"No, no," I said. "Don't do that."

"And don't worry," she said. "I'm not going to let this be easy and boring for you No, I have some wonderful surprises in store for you and Anthony. Anguish. Indecision. Oh, you just wait."

"That's really okay," I told her. "Don't go to any trouble."

"You're so cute. I wish all my sons could break the heart of a girl as nice as you." Aphrodite's eyes were tearing up. "Now, you better go. And do be careful in my husband's territory Perci. Don't take anything. He is awfully use about his trinkets and trash."

"What?" I asked. "You mean Hephaestus?"

But the car or opened and Ares grabbed my shoulder pulling me out of the car and back into the desert night.

My audience with the goddess of love was over.

* * *

"You're lucky, punk." Ares pushed me away from the limo. "Be grateful."

"For what?"

"That we're being so nice. If it was up to me-"

"So why haven't you killed me?" I shot back. It was a stupid thing to say to the god of war, but being around him always made me feel angry and reckless.

Ares nodded, like I'd finally said something intelligent.

"I'd love to kill you, seriously," he said. "But see, I got a situation. Word on Olympus is that you might start the biggest war in history. I can't risk messing that up. Besides, Aphrodite thinks you're some kinda soap-opera star or something. I kill you, that makes me look bad with her. But don't worry. I haven't forgotten my promise. Some day soon, kid- _real_ soon-you're going to raise your sword to fight, and you're going to remember the wrath of Ares."

I balled my fists. "Why wait? I beat you once. How's that ankle healing up?"

He grinned crookedly. "Not bad, punk. But you got nothing on the master of taunts. I'll start the fight when I'm good and ready. Until then...Get lost."

He snapped his fingers and the world did a three-sixty, spinning in a cloud of red dust. I fell to the ground.

When I stood up again, the limousine was gone. The road, the taco restaurant, the whole town of Gila Claw was gone. My friends and I were standing in the middle of the junkyard, mountains of scrap metal stretched out in every direction.

* * *

"What did she _want_ with you?" Bianca asked, once I'd told them about Aphrodite.

"Oh, uh, not sure," I lied. "She said to be careful in her husband's junkyard. She said not to pick anything up."

Zoë narrowed her eyes. "The goddess of love would not make a special trip to tell thee that. Be careful, Perci. Aphrodite has led many heroes astray, and I'm not sure how that goes for a maiden as well."

"For once I agree with Zoë," Thalia said. "You can't trust Aphrodite."

Gretel was looking at me funny. Being empathic and all, she could usually read my emotions, and I got the feeling she knew exactly what Aphrodite had talked to me about.

"So," I said, anxious to change the subject, "how do we get out of here?"

"That way," Zoë said. "That is west."

"How can you tell?"

In the light of the full moon, I was surprised how well I could see her roll her eyes at me. "Ursa Major is in the north," she said, "which means _that_ must be west."

She pointed west, then at the northern constellation, which was hard to make out because there were so many other stars.

"Oh, yeah," I said. "The bear thing."

Zoë looked offended. "Show some respect. It was a fine bear. A worthy opponent."

"You act like it was real."

"Guys," Gretel broke in. "Look!"

We'd reached the crest of a junk mountain. Piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

"Whoa," Bianca said. "That stuff...some of it looks like real gold."

"It is," Thalia said grimly. "Like Perci said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods."

"Look!" Bianca said. She raced down the hill, tripping over bronze coils and golden plates. She picked up a bow that glowed silver in moonlight. "A Hunter's bow!"

She yelped in surprise as the bow began to shrink, and became a hair clip shaped like a crescent moon. "It's just like Perci's sword!"

Zoë's face was grim. "Leave it, Bianca."

"But-"

"It is here for a reason. Anything thrown away in this junkyard must stay in this yard. It is defective. Or cursed."

Bianca reluctantly set the hair clip down.

"I don't like this place," Thalia said. She gripped the shaft of her spear.

"You think we're going to get attacked by killer refrigerators?" I asked.

She gave me a hard look. "Zoë is right, Perci. Things get thrown away from here for a reason. Now come on, let's get across the yard."

"That's the second time you've agreed with Zoë," I muttered, but Thalia ignored me.

We started picking our way through the hills and and valleys of junk. The stuff seemed to go on forever, and if it hadn't been for Ursa Major, we would've gotten lost. All the hills pretty much looked the same.

I'd like to say we left the stuff alone, but there was too much cool junk not to check out some of it. I found an electric guitar shaped like Apollo's lyre that was so sweet I had to pick it up. Gretel found a broken tree made out of metal. It had been chopped to pieces, but some of the branches still had golden birds in them, and they whirred around when Gretel picked them up, trying to flap their wings.

Finally, we saw the edge of the junkyard about half a mile ahead of us, the lights of a highway stretching through the desert. But between us and the road…

"What is that?" Bianca gasped.

Ahead of us was a hill much bigger and longer than the others. It was like a metal mesa, the length of a football field and as tall as goalposts. At one end of the mesa was a row of ten thick metal columns, wedged tightly together.

Bianca frowned. "They look like-"

"Toes," Gretel said.

Bianca nodded. "Really, really big toes."

Zoë and Thalia exchanged nervous looks.

"Let's go around," Thalia said. " _Far_ around."

"But the road is right over there," I protested. "Quicker to climb over."

 _Ping_.

Thalia hefted her spear and Zoë drew her bow, but then I realized it was only Gretel. She had thrown a piece of scrap metal at the toes and hit one, making a deep echo, as if the column were hollow.

"Why did you do that?" Zoë demanded.

Gretel cringed. "I don't know. I, uh, don't like fake feet?"

"Come on." Thalia looked at me. " _Around_."

I didn't argue. The toes were starting to freak me out, too. I mean, who sculpts ten-foot-tall metal toes and sticks them in a junkyard?

After several minutes of walking, we finally stepped onto the highway, an abandoned but well-lit stretch of black asphalt.

"We made it out," Zoë said. "Thank the gods."

But apparently the gods didn't want to be thanked. At that moment, I heard a sound like a thousand trash compactors crushing metal.

I whirled around. Behind us, the scrap mountain was boiling, rising up. The ten toes tilted over, and I realized why they looked like toes. They _were_ toes. The thing that rose up from the metal was a bronze giant in full Greek battle armor. He was impossibly tall-a skyscraper with legs and arms. He gleamed wickedly in the moonlight. He looked down at us, and his face was deformed. The left side was partially melted off. His joints creaked with rust, and across his armored chest, written in thick dust by some giant finger, were the words WASH ME.

"Talos!" Zoë gasped.

"Who-who's Talos?" I shuttered.

"One of Hephaestus's creations," Thalia said. "But that can't be the original. It's too small. A prototype, maybe. A defective model."

The metal giant didn't like the word _defective_.

He moved one hand to his sword belt and drew his weapon. The sound of it coming out of its sheath was horrible, metal screeching against metal. The blade was a hundred feet long, easy. It looked rusty and dull, but I didn't figure that mattered. Getting hit with that thing would be like getting hit with a battleship.

"Someone took something," Zoë said. "Who took something?"

She stared accusingly at me.

I shook my head. "I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a thief."

Bianca didn't say anything. I could sweat she looked guilty, but I didn't have much time to think about it, because the giant defective Talos took one step toward us, closing half the distance and making the ground shake.

"Run!" Gretel yelped.

Great advice, except that it was hopeless. At a leisurely stroll, this thing could outdistance us easily.

We split up, the way we'd done with the Nemean Lion. Thalia drew her shield and held it up as she ran down the highway. The giant swung his sword and took out a row of power lines, which exploded in sparks and scattered across Thalia's path.

Zoë's arrows whistled toward the creature's face but shattered harmlessly against the metal. Gretel was screaming to the top of her lungs as she went climbing up a mountain of metal.

Bianca and I ended up next to each other, hiding behind a broken chariot.

"You took something," I said. "That bow."

"No!" she said, but her voice was quivering.

"Give it back!" I said. "Throw it down!"

"I...I didn't take the bow! Besides, it's too late."

"What did you take?"

Before she could answer, I heard a massive creaking noise, and a shadow blotted out the sky.

"Move!" I tore down the hill, Bianca right behind me, as the giant's foot smashed the crater in the ground where we'd been hiding.

"Hey, Talos!" Gretel yelled, but the monster raised his sword, looking down at Bianca and me.

Gretel unstrapped her vine whip as it made a big _snap!_ And she whipped a few feet away as sparks flew up and I saw tiny dew droplets sprinkle, which I realized were seeds. She strapped her whip back around her shoulder and began waving her hands around as she made the seeds grew into living vines, and I understood what Gretel was going to do a split second before it happened. One of the vines flew toward Talo's back leg and wrapped around his calf. And then one of the power lines still attached wrapped around his other leg. The lines sparked and sent a jolt of electricity up the giant's backside.

Talos whirled around, creaking and sparking. Gretel had bought us a few seconds.

"Come on!" I told Bianca. But she stayed frozen. From her pocket, she brought out a small metal figurine, a statue of a god. "It...it was for Nico. It was the only statue he didn't have."

"How can you think of Mythomagic at a time like this?" I said.

There were tears in her eyes.

"Throw it down," I said. "Maybe the giant will leave us alone."

She dropped it reluctantly, but nothing happened.

The giant kept coming after Gretel. It stabbed its sword into a junk hill, missing Gretel by a few feet, but scrap metal made an avalanche over her, and then I couldn't see her anymore.

"No!" Thalia yelled. She pointed her spear, and a blue arc of lightning shot out, hitting the monster in his rusty knee, which buckled. The giant collapsed, but immediately started to rise again. It was hard to tell if it could feel anything. There wasn't any emotions in its half-melted face, but I got the sense that it was about as ticked off as a twenty-story-tall metal warrior could be.

He raised his foot to stomp and I saw that his sole was treaded like the bottom of a sneaker. There was a hole in his heel, like a large manhole, and there were red words painted around it, which I deciphered only after the foot came down: FOR MAINTENANCE ONLY.

"Crazy-idea time," I said.

Bianca looked at me nervously. "Anything."

I told her about the maintenance hatch. "There may be a way to control the thing. Switches or something. I'm going to get inside."

"How? You'll have to stand under its foot! You'll be crushed."

"Distract it," I said. "I'll just have to time it right."

Bianca's jaw tightened. "No. I'll go."

"You can't. You're new at this! You'll die."

"It's my fault the monster came after us," she said. "It's my responsibility. Here." She picked up the little god statue and pressed it into my hand. "If anything happens, give that to Nico. Tell him...tell him I'm sorry."

"Bianca, no!"

But she wasn't waiting for me. She charged at the monster's left foot.

Thalia had its attention of the moment. She's learned that the giant was big but slow. If you could stay close to it and not get smashed, you could run around it and stay alive. At least, it was working so far.

Bianca got right next to the giant's foot, trying to balance herself on the metal scraps that swayed and shifted with his weight.

Zoë yelled, "What are you doing?"

"Get it to raise its foot!" she said.

Zoë shot an arrow toward the monster's face and it flew straight into one nostril. The giant straightened and shook its head.

"Hey, Junk Boy!" I yelled. "Down here."

I ran up to its big toe and stabbed it with Riptide. The magic blade cut a gash in the bronze.

Unfortunately, my plan worked. Talos looked down at me and raised his foot to squash me like a bug. I didn't see what Bianca was doing. I had to turn and run. The foot came down about two inches behind me and I was knocked into the air. I hit something hard and sat up, dazed. I'd been thrown into an Olympus-Air refrigerator.

The monster was about to finish me off, but Gretel somehow dug herself out of the junk pile. She waved her hands frantically and her magic sent another power line pole whacking against Talo's thigh. The monster turned. Gretel should've ran, but she must've been too exhausted from the effort of so much magic. She took two steps, fell, and didn't get back up.

"Gretel!" Thalia and I both ran toward her, but I knew we'd be too late.

The monster raised his sword to smash Gretel. Then he froze.

Talos cocked his head to one side, like he was hearing strange new music. He started moving his arms and legs in weird ways, doing the Funky Chicken. Then he made a fist and punched himself in the face.

"Go, Bianca!" I yelled.

Zoë looked horrified. "She is _inside_?"

The monster staggered around, and I realized we were still in danger. Thalia and I grabbed Gretel and ran with her toward the highway. Zoë was already ahead of us. She yelled, "How will Bianca get out?"

The giant hit itself in the head again and dropped his sword. A shudder ran through his whole body and he staggered toward the power lines.

"Look out!" I yelled, but it was too late.

The giant's ankle snared the lines, and blue flickers of electricity shot up his body. I hoped the inside was insulated. I had no idea what was going on in there. The giant careened back into the junkyard, and his right hand fell off, landing in the scrap metal with a horrible _CLANG!_

His left arm came loose, too. He was falling apart at the joints.

Talos began to run.

"Wait!" Zoë yelled. We ran after him, but there was no way we could keep up. Pieces of the robot kept falling off, getting in our way.

The giant crumbled from the top down: his head, his chest, and finally his legs collapsed. When we reached the wreckage we searched frantically, yelling Bianca's name. We crawled around in the vast hollow pieces and the legs and the head. We searched until the sun started to rise, but no luck.

Zoë sat down and wept. I was stunned to see her cry.

Thalia yelled in rage and impaled her spear in the giant's smashed face.

"We can keep searching," I said. "It's light now. We'll find her."

"No we won't," Gretel said miserably. "It happened just as it was supposed to."

"What are you talking about?" I demanded.

She looked up at me with big green, chlorophyll-teared eyes. "The prophecy. _One shall be lost in the land without rain_."

Why hadn't I seen it? Why had I let her go instead of me?

Here we were in the desert. And Bianca di Angelo was gone.


	14. I Have a Dam Problem

**Chapter 14**

I Have a Dam Problem

At the edge of the dump, we found a tow truck so old it might've been thrown away itself. But the engine started, and it had a full tank of gas, so we decided to borrow it.

Thalia drove. She didn't seen as stunned as Zoë or Gretel or me.

"The skeletons are still out there," she reminded us. "We need to keep moving."

She navigated us through the desert, under clear blue skies, the sand so bright it hurt to look at. Zoë sat up in front with Thalia. Gretel and I sat in the pickup bed, leaning against the tow wench. The air was cool and dry, but the nice weather just seemed like an insult after losing Bianca.

My hand closed around the little figurine that had cost her life. I still couldn't even tell what god it was supposed to be. Nico would know.

Oh, gods...what was I going to tell Nico?

I wanted to believe that Bianca was still alive somewhere. But I had a bad feeling that she was gone for good.

"It should've been me," I said. "I should've gone into the giant."

"Don't say that!" Gretel panicked. "It's bad enough Anthony is gone, and now Bianca. Do you think I could stand it if…" She sniffled as chlorophyll leaked from her eyes. "Do you think anybody _else_ would be my best friend?"

"Ah, Gretel…"

She wiped under her eyes with an oily cloth that left her face grimy, like she had on war paint. "I'm...I'm okay."

But she wasn't okay. Ever since the encounter in New Mexico-whatever had happened when that wild wind blew through-she seemed really fragile, even more emotional than usual. I was afraid to talk to her about it, because she might start bawling.

At least there's one good thing about having a friend who gets freaked out more than you do. I realized I couldn't stay depressed. I had to set aside thinking about Bianca and keep us going forward, the way Thalia was doing. I wondered what she and Zoë were talking about in the front of the truck.

* * *

The tow truck ran out of gas at the edge of a river canyon. That was just as well, because the road dead-ended.

Thalia got out and slammed the door. Immediately, one of the tires blew. "Great. What now?"

I scanned the horizon. There wasn't much to see. Desert in all directions, occasional clumps of barren mountains plopped here and there. The canyon was the only thing interesting. The river itself wasn't very big, maybe fifty yards across, green water with a few rapids, but it carved a huge scar out of the desert. The rock cliffs dropped away below us.

"There's a path," Gretel said. "We could get to the river."

I tried to see what she was talking about, and finally noticed a tiny ledge winding down the cliff face. "That's a goat path," I said.

"So?" she asked.

"You're trained in satyr's magic, and I doubt any of us are goats."

"We can make it," Gretel said. "I think."

I thought about that. I'd done cliffs before, but I didn't like them. Then I looked at Thalia and saw how pale she'd gotten. Her problem with heights...she'd never be able to do it.

"No," I said. "I, uh, think we should go further upstream."

Gretel said, "But-"

"Come on," I said. "A walk won't hurt us."

I glanced at Thalia. Her eyes said a quick _Thank you_.

We followed the river about half a mile before coming to an easier slope that led down to the water. On the shore was a canoe rental operation that was closed for the season, but I left a stack of golden drachmas on the counter and a note saying _IOU two canoes_.

"We need to go upstream," Zoë said. It was the first time I'd heard her speak since the junkyard, and I was worried about how bad she sounded, like somebody with the flu. "The rapids are too swift."

"Leave that to me," I said. We put the canoes in the water.

Thalia pulled me aside as we were getting the oars. "Thanks for back there."

"Don't mention it."

"Can you really…" She nodded to the rapids. "You know."

"I think so. Usually I'm good with water. Either that, or I could turn the whole river into a tsunami."

Thalia laughed a little, but her face turned a little pale again. "No big waves please, but...would you take Zoë?" she asked. "I think, ah, maybe you can talk to her."

"She's not really going to like that."

"Please? I don't know if I can stand being in the same boat with her. She's...she's starting to worry me."

It was about the last thing I wanted to do, but I nodded.

Thalia's shoulders relaxed. "I owe you one."

"Two."

"One in a half," Thalia said.

"Like forces of nature." We fist bumped each other. We would do that every time we would say we would owe each other one, two, and then one in a half.

She smiled, and for a second, I remembered that I actually liked her when she wasn't yelling at me. She turned and helped Gretel get their canoe into the water.

As it turned out, I didn't even need to control the currents. As soon as we got in the river, I looked over the edge of the boat and found a couple of naiads staring at me.

They looked like regular teenage girls, the kind you'd see in any mall, except for the fact that they were underwater.

 _Hey_ , I said.

They made a bubbling sound that may have been giggling. I wasn't sure. I had a hard time understanding naiads.

 _We're heading upstream_ , I told them. _Do you think you could_ -

Before I could even finish, the naiads each chose a canoe and began pushing us up the river. We started so fast Gretel fell into her canoe with her soil barefeet sticking up in the air.

"I hate naiads," Zoë grumbled.

A stream of water squirted up from the back of the boat and hit Zoë in the face.

"She-devils!" Zoë went for her bow.

"Whoa," I said. "They're just playing."

"Cursed water spirits. They've never forgiven me."

"Forgiven you for what?"

She slung her bow back over her shoulder. "It was a long time ago. Never mind."

We sped up the river, the cliffs looming up on either side of us.

"What happened to Bianca wasn't your fault," I told her. "It was my fault. I let her go."

I figured that would give Zoë an excuse to start yelling at me. At least that might shake her out of feeling depressed.

Instead, her shoulders slumped. "No, Perci. I pushed her into going on the quest. I was too anxious. She was a powerful half-blood, like you. She had a kind heart, as well. I...I thought she would be the next lieutenant."

"But you're the lieutenant."

She gripped the strap of her quiver. SHe looked more tired than I'd even seen her. "Nothing can last forever, Perci. Over two thousand years I have led the Hunt, and my wisdom has not improved. Now Artemis herself is in danger."

"Look, you can't blame yourself for that."

"If I had insisted on going with her-"

"You think you could've fought something powerful enough to kidnap Artemis? There's nothing you could have done. Heck, even if I wanted to do something, I don't even think I could've done something to help."

Zoë didn't answer.

The cliffs along the river were getting taller. Long shadows fell across the water, making it a lot colder, even though the day was bright.

Without thinking about it, I took Riptide out of my pocket. Zoë looked at the pen, and her expression was pained.

"You made this," I said.

"Who told thee?"

"I had a dream about it. I...dreamed that I was you."

She studied me. I was sure she was going to call me crazy, but she just sighed. "It was a gift. And a mistake."

"Who was the hero I saw you running with?" I asked.

Zoë shook her head. "Do not make me say his name, maiden. I swore never to speak it again."

"You...you act like I should know him."

"I am sure you do. Don't all boys want to be just like him? How I realized you carried my sword, the first daughter of the sea god...I thought I could drive you away from the brainwash of _him_."

Her voice sounded so bitter, I decided not to ask what she meant. I looked down at Riptide, and for the first time, I wondered if it was cursed. I also wondered what hero what see was talking about, and why she wanted me to join the Hunt.

"Your mother was a water goddess?" I asked.

"Yes, Pleione. She had five daughters. My sister and I. The Hesperides."

"The sunset nymphs, the _nightshade_ nymphs. Those were the girls who lived in a garden at the edge of the West. With the golden apple tree and a dragon guarding it."

"Yes," Zoë said wistfully. "Ladon."

"But weren't there only four sisters?"

"There are now. I was exiled. Forgotten. Blotted out as if I never existed."

"Why?"

Zoë pointed to my pen. "Because I betrayed my family and helped a hero. You won't find that in the legend either. He never spoke of me. After his direct assault on Ladon failed, I gave him the idea of how to steal the apples, how to trick my father, but _he_ took all the credit."

"But-"

 _Gurgle, gurgle_ , The naiad spoke in my mind. The canoe was slowing down.

I looked ahead, and I saw why.

This was as far as they could take us. The river was blocked. A dam the size of a football stadium stood in out path.

* * *

"Hoover Dam," Thalia said. "It's huge."

We stood at the river's edge, looking up at a curve of concrete that loomed between the cliffs. People were walking along the top of the dam. They were so tiny they looked like fleas.

The naiads had left with a lot of grumbling-not in words I could understand, but it was obvious they hated this dam blocking up their nice river. Our canoes floated back downstream, swirling in the wake from the dam's discharge vents.

"Seven hundred feet tall," I said. "Built in the 1930s."

"Five million cubic acres of water," Thalia said.

Gretel sighed. "Largest construction project in the United States."

Zoë stared at us. "How do you know all that?"

"Anthony," I said. "He liked architecture."

"He was nuts about monuments," Thalia said.

"Spouted facts all the time." Gretel sniffled. "So annoying."

"I wish he were here," I said.

The others nodded. Zoë was still looking at us strangely, but I didn't care, even if we did talk about a boy. It seemed like cruel fate that we'd come to Hoover Dam, one of Anthony's personal favorites, and he wasn't here to see it.

"We should go up there," I said. "For his sake. Just to say we've been."

"You are mad," Zoë decided. "But that's there the road is." She pointed to a huge parking garage next to the top of the dam. "And so, sightseeing it is."

* * *

We had to walk for almost an hour before we found a path that led up to the road. It came up on the east side of the river. Then we straggled back toward the dam. It was cold and windy on top. On one side, a big lake spread out, ringed by barren desert mountains. On the other side, the dam dropped away like the world's most dangerous skateboard ramp, down to the river seven hundred feet below, and water that churned from the dam's vents.

Thalia walked in the middle of the road, far away from the edges. Gretel kept sniffing the wind and looking nervous. She didn't say anything, but I knew she smelled monsters.

"How close are they?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "Maybe not close. The wind on the dam, the desert all around us...the scent can probably carry for miles. But it's coming from several directions. I don't like that."

I didn't either. It was already Wednesday, only two days until winter solstice, and we still had a long way to go. We didn't need any more monsters.

"There's a snack bar in the visitor center," Thalia said.

"You've been here before?" I asked.

"Once. To see the guardians." She pointed to the far end of the dam. Carved into the side of the cliff was a little plaza with two big bronze statues. They looked kind of like Oscar statues with wings.

"They were dedicated to Zeus when the dam was built," Thalia said. "A gift from Athena."

Tourists were clustered all around them. They seemed to by looking at the statues' feet.

"What are they doing?" I asked.

"Rubbing the toes," Thalia said. "They think it's good luck."

"Why?"

She shook her head. "Mortals get crazy ideas. They don't know the statues are sacred to Zeus, but they know there's something special about them."

"When you were here last, did they talk to you or anything?"

Thalia's expression darkened. I could tell that she'd come here before hoping to exactly that-some kind of sign from her dad. Some connection. "No. They don't do anything. They're just big metal statues."

I thought about the last big metal statue we'd run into. That hadn't gone so well. But I decided not to bring it up.

"Let us find the dam snack bar," Zoë said. "We should eat while we can."

Gretel cracked a smile. "The dam snack bar?"

Zoë blinked. "Yes. What is funny?"

"Nothing," Gretel said, trying to keep a straight face. "I could use some dam french fries."

Even Thalia smiled at that. "And I need to use the dam restroom."

Maybe it was the fact that we were so tired and strung out emotionally, but I started cracking up, and Thalia and Gretel joined in, while Zoë just looked at us. "I do not understand."

"I want to use the dam water fountain," Gretel said.

"And…" Thalia tried to catch her breath. "I want to buy a dam T-shirt."

I busted up, and I probably would've kept laughing all day, but then I heard a noise:

"Moooo."

The smile melted off my face. I wondered if the noise was just in my head, but Gretel had stopped laughing too. She was looking around, confused. "Did I just hear a cow?"

"A dam cow?" Thalia laughed.

"No," Gretel said. "I'm serious."

Zoë listened. "I hear nothing."

Thalia looked at me. "Perci, are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said. "You guys go ahead. I'll be right in."

"What's wrong?" Gretel asked.

"Nothing," I said. "I...I just need a minute. To think."

They hesitated, but I guess I must've looked upset, because they finally went into the visitor center without me. As soon as they were gone, I jogged to the north edge of the dam and looked over.

"Moo."

He was about thirty feet below in the lake, but I could see him clearly: my friend from Long Island Sound, Jimmy the cow serpent.

I looked around. There were groups of kids running along the dam. A lot of senior citizens. Some families. But nobody seemed to be paying Jimmy any attention yet.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"Moo!"

His voice was urgent, like he was trying to warn me of something.

"How did you get here?" I asked. We were thousands of miles from Long Island, hundreds of miles inland. There was no way he could've swum all the way here. And yet, here he was.

Jimmy swam in a circle and and butted his head against the side of the dam. "Moo!"

He wanted me to come with him. He was telling me to hurry.

"I can't," I told him. "My friends are inside."

He looked at me with his sad brown eyes. Then he gave one more urgent "Mooo!," did a flip, and disappeared into the water.

I hesitated. Something was wrong. He was trying to tell me that. I considered jumping over the side and following him, but then I tensed. The hairs on my arms bristled. I looked down the dam road to the east and I saw two men walking slowly toward me. They wore gray camoflage outfits that flickered over skeletal bodies.

They passed through a group of kids and pushed them aside. A kid yelled, "Hey!" One of the warriors turned, his face changing momentarily into a skull.

"Ah!" the kid yelled, and his whole group backed away.

I ran for the visitor center.

I was almost to the stairs when I heard tires squeal. On the west side of the dam, a black van swerved to a stop in the middle of the road, nearly plowing into some old people.

The van doors opened and more skeleton warriors piled out. I was surrounded.

I bolted down the stairs and through the museum entrance. The security guard at the metal detector yelled, "Hey, kid!" But I didn't stop.

I ran through the exhibits and ducked behind a tour group. I looked for my friends, but I couldn't see them anywhere. Where was the dam snack bar?

"Stop!" The metal-detector guy yelled.

There was no place to go but into an elevator with the tour group. I ducked inside just as the door closed.

"We'll be going down seven hundred feet," our tour guide said cheerfully. She was a park ranger, with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail and tinted glasses. I guess she hadn't noticed that I was being chased. "Don't worry, ladies and gentlemen, the elevator hardly ever breaks."

"Does this go to the snack bar?" I asked her.

A few people behind me chuckled. The tour guide looked at me. Something about her gaze made my skin tingle.

"To the turbines, young lady," the lady said. "Weren't you listening to my fascinating presentation upstairs?"

"Oh, uh, sure. Is there another way out of the dam?"

"It's a dead end," a tourist behind me said. "For heaven's sake. The only way out is the other elevator."

The doors opened.

"Go right ahead, folks," the tour guide told us. "Another ranger is waiting for you at the end of the corridor."

I didn't have much choice but to go out with the group.

"And young lady," the tour guide called. I looked back. She's taken off her glasses. Her eyes were startlingly gray, like storm clouds. "There is always a way out for those clever enough to find it."

The doors closed with the tour guide still inside, leaving me alone.

Before I could think too much about the woman in the elevator, a _ding_ came from around the corner. The second elevator was opening, and I heard an unmistakable sound-the clattering of skeleton teeth.

I ran after the tour group, through a tunnel carved out of solid rock. It seemed to run forever. The walls were moist, and the air hummed with electricity and the roar of water. I came out on a U-shaped balcony that overlooked this huge warehouse area. Fifty feet below, enormous turbines were running. It was a big room, but I didn't see any other exit, unless I wanted to jump into the turbines and get churned up to make electricity. I didn't.

Another tour guide was talking over the microphone, telling the tourists about water supplies in Nevada. I prayed that Thalia, Zoë, and Gretel were okay. They might already be captured, or eating at the snack bar, completely unaware that we were being surrounded. And stupid me: I had trapped myself in a hole hundreds of feet below the surface.

I worked my way around the crowd, trying not to be too obvious about it. There was another hallway at the other side of the balcony-maybe some place I could hide. I kept my hand on Riptide, ready to strike.

By the time I got to the opposite side of the balcony, my nerves were shot. I backed into the little hallway and watched the tunnel I'd come from.

Then right behind me I heard a sharp _Chhh!_ like the voice of a skeleton.

Without thinking, I uncapped Riptide and spun, slashing with my sword.

The girl I'd just tried to slice in half yelped and dropped her Kleenex.

"Oh my god!" she shouted. "Do you always kill people when they blow their noses?"

The first thing that went though my head was that the sword hadn't hurt her. It had passed clean through her body, harmlessly. "You're mortal!"

She looked at me in disbelief. "What's _that_ supposed to mean? Of couse I'm mortal! How did you get that sword past security?"

"I didn't-Wait, you can see it's a sword?"

The girl rolled her eyes, which were green like mine. She had frizzy reddish-brown hair. Her nose was also red, like she had a cold. She wore a big maroon Harvard sweatshirt and jeans that were covered with marker stains and little holes, like she spent her free time poking them with a fork.

"Well, it's either a sword or the biggest toothpick in the world," she said. "And why didn't it hurt me? I mean, not that I'm complaining. Who are you? And whoa, what is that you're wearing? Is that made of lion fur?"

She asked so many questions so fast, it was like she was throwing rocks at me. I couldn't think of what to say. I looked at my sleeves to see if the Nemean Lion pelt had somehow changed back to fur, but it still looked like a brown winter coat to me.

I knew the skeleton warriors were still chasing me. I had no time to waste. But I just stared at the redheaded girl. Then I remembered what Thalia had done at Westover Hall to fool the teachers. Maybe I could manipulate the Mist.

I concentrated hard and snapped my fingers. "You don't see a sword," I told the girl. "It's just a ballpoint pen."

She blinked. "Um...no. It's a sword, weirdo."

"Who _are_ you?" I demanded.

She huffed indignantly. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Now, are you going to answer _my_ questions or should I scream for security?"

"No!" I said. "I mean, I'm kind of in a hurry. I'm in trouble."

"In a hurry or in trouble."

"Um, sort of both."

She looked over my shoulder and her eyes widened. "Bathroom!"

"What?"

"Bathroom! Behind you! Now!"

I don't know why, but I listened to her. I slipped inside the girls' bathroom and left Rachel Elizabeth Dare standing outside. Later, that seemed cowardly to me. I'm also pretty sure it saved my life.

I heard the chattering, hissing sounds of skeletons as they came closer.

My grip tightened on Riptide. What was I thinking? I'd left a mortal girl out there to die. I was preparing to burst out and fight when Rachel Elizabeth Dare started talking in the rapid-fire machine gun way of hers.

"Oh my god! Did you _see_ that kid? It's about time you got here. She tried to kill me! She had a sword, for god's sake. You security guys let a sword-swinging lunatic inside a national landmark? I mean, jeez! She ran that way toward those turbine thingies. I think she went over the side or something. Maybe she fell."

The skeletons clattered excitedly. I heard them moving off.

Rachel opened the door. "All clear. But you'd better hurry."

She looked shaken. Her face was gray and sweaty.

I peeked through the corner. Three skeleton warriors were running toward the other end of the balcony. The way to the elevator was clear for a few seconds.

"I owe you one, Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"What are those things?" she asked. "They looked like-"

"Skeletons?"

She nodded uneasily.

"Do me a favor," I said. "Forget it. Forget you ever saw me."

"Forget you tried to kill me?

"Yeah. That, too."

"But who are you?"

"Perci-" I started to say. Then the skeletons turned around. "Gotta go!"

"What kind of name is Perci Gotta-go?"

I bolted for the exit.

* * *

The café was packed with kids enjoying the best part of the tour-the dam lunch. Thalia, Zoë, and Gretel were just sitting down with their food.

"We need to leave," I gasped. "Now!"

"But we just got our burritos!" Thalia said.

Zoë stood up, muttering an Ancient Greek curse. "She's right! Look."

The café windows wrapped all the way around the observation floor, which gave us a beautiful panoramic view of the skeletal army that had come to kill us.

I counted two on the east side of the dam road, blocking the way to Arizona. Three more on the west side, guarding Nevada. All of them were armed with batons and pistols.

But our immediate problem was a lot closer. The three skeletal warriors who'd been chasing me in the turbine room now appeared on the stairs. They saw me from across the cafeteria and clattered their teeth.

"Elevator!" Gretel said. We bolted that direction, but the doors opened with a pleasant _ding_ , and three more warriors stepped out. Every warrior was accounted for, minus the one Bianca had blasted to flames in New Mexico. We were completely surrounded.

Then Gretel had a brilliant, totally Gretel-like idea.

"Burrito fight!" she yelled, and flung her Guacamole Grande at the nearest skeleton.

Now, if you have never been hit by a flying burrito, count yourself lucky. In terms of deadly projectiles, it's right up there with grenades and cannonballs. Gretel's lunch hit the skeleton and knocked his skull clean off his shoulders. I'm not sure what the other kids in the café saw, but they went crazy and started throwing their burritos and baskets of chips and sodas at each other, shrieking and screaming.

The skeletons tried to aim their guns, but it was hopeless. Bodies and food and drinks were flying everywhere.

In the chaos, Thalia and I tackled the other two skeletons on the stairs and sent them flying into the condiment table. Then we all raced downstairs, Guacamole Grandes whizzing past our heads.

"What now?" Gretel asked as we burst outside.

I didn't have an answer. The warriors on the road were closing in from either direction. We ran across the street to the pavilion with the winged bronze statues, but that just put our backs to the mountain.

The skeletons moved forward, forming a crescent around us. Their brethren from the café were running up to join them. One was still putting its skull back on its shoulders. Another was covered in ketchup and mustard. Two more had burritos lodged in their rib cages. They didn't look happy about it. They drew their batons and advanced.

"Four against eleven," Zoë muttered. "And _they_ cannot die."

"It's been nice adventuring with you girls," Gretel said, her voice trembling.

Something shiny caught the corner of my eye. I glanced behind me at the statue's feet. "Whoa," I said. "Their toes really are bright."

"Perci!" Thalia said. "This isn't the time."

But I couldn't help staring at the two giant bronze guys with tall bladed wings like letter openers. They were weathered brown except for their toes, which shone like new pennies from all the times people had rubbed them for good luck.

Good luck. The blessing of Zeus.

I thought about the tour guide in the elevator. Her gray eyes and her smile. What had she said? _There is always a way for those clever enough to find it_.

"Thalia," I said. "Pray to your dad."

She glared at me. "He never answers."

"Just this once," I pleaded. "Ask for help. I think...I think the statues can give us some luck."

Six skeletons raised their guns, The other five came forward with batons. Fifty feet away. Forty feet.

"Do it!" I yelled.

"No!" Thalia said. "He won't answer me."

"This time is different!"

"Who says?"

I hesitated. "Athena, I think."

Thalia scowled like she was sure I'd gone crazy.

"Try it," Gretel pleaded.

Thalia closed her eyes. Her lips moved in a silent prayer. I put in my own prayer to Anthony's mom, hoping I was right that it had been her in that elevator-that she was trying to help us save her son.

And nothing happened.

The skeletons closed in. I raised Riptide to defend myself. Thalia held up her shield. Zoë aimed an arrow at a skeleton's head. And Gretel snapped her vine whip out from her neck.

A shadow fell over me. I thought maybe it was the shadow of death. Then I realized it was the shadow of an enormous wing. The skeletons looked up too late. A flash of bronze, and all five of the baton-wielders were swept aside.

The other skeletons opened fire. I raised my lion coat for protection, but I didn't need it. The bronze angels stepped in front of us and folded their wings like shields. Bullets pinged off them like rain off a corrugated roof. Both angels slashed outward, and the skeletons went flying across the road.

"Man, it feels good to stand up!" the first angel said. His voice sounded tinny and rusty, like he hadn't had a drink since he'd been built.

"Will ya look at my toes?" the other said. "Holy Zeus, what were those tourists thinking?"

As stunned as I was by the angels, I was more concerned with the skeletons. A few of them were getting up again, reassembling, bony hands groping for their weapons.

"Trouble!" I said.

"Get us out of here!" Thalia yelled.

Both angels looked down at her. "Zeus's kid?"

"Yes!"

"Could I get a _please_ , Miss Zeus's Kid?" an angel asked.

"Please!"

The angels looked at each other and shrugged.

"Could use a stretch," one decided.

And the next thing I knew, one of them grabbed Thalia and me, the other grabbed Zoë and Gretel, and we flew straight up, over the dam and the river, the skeleton warriors shrinking to tiny specks below us and the sound of gunfire echoing off the sides of the mountains.


	15. I Wrestle Santa's Evil Twin

[A/N: To the Perci Jackson readers, I'm afraid I'm going to have to put the series on hold JUST for a little while. It's difficult for me to focus on two or more stories at once and I decided to focus more on American Dragon: Jackie Long. But don't get too bummed out, when I'm done completing my story, I'll come right back to complete this series, I promise and I don't intend to break it. It'll just take a while, so just be patient and understanding with me. There could be a possibility that I'll post a chapter at random times, but not as much or as fast.]

 **Chapter 15**

I Wrestle Santa's Evil Twin

"Tell me when it's over," Thalia said. Her eyes were shut tight. The statue was holding on to us so we couldn't fall, but still Thalia clutched his arm like it was the most important thing in the world.

"Everything's fine," I promised.

"Are...are we very high?"

I looked down. Below us, a range of snowy mountains zipped by. I stretched out my foot and kicked snow off one of the peaks.

"Nah," I said. "Not that high."

"We are in the Sierras!" Zoë yelled. She and Gretel were hanging from the arms of the other statue. "I have hunted here before. At this speed, we should be in San Francisco in a few hours."

"Hey, hey, Frisco!" our angel said. "Yo, Chuck! We could visit those guys at the Mechanics Monument again! They knew how to party!"

"You guys have visited San Francisco?" I asked.

"We automatons gotta have some fun once in a while, right? Our statue said. "Those mechanics took us over to the de Young Museum and introduced us to these marble lady statues, see. And-"

"Hank!" the other statue Chuck cut in. "These girls are kids, man."

"Oh, right." If bronze statues could blush, I swear Hank did. "Back to flying."

We sped up, so I could tell the angels were excited. The mountains fell away into hills, and then we were zipping along over farmland and towns and highways.

Gretel was humming to pass them time. Zoë got bored and started shooting arrows at random billboards as we flew by. Every time she saw a Target department store-and we passed dozens of them-she would peg the store's sign with a few bulls-eyes at a hundred miles an hour.

Thalia kept her eyes closed the whole way. She muttered to herself a lot, like she was praying.

" You did good back there," I told her. "Zeus listened."

It was hard to tell what she was thinking with her eyes closed.

"Maybe," she said. "How did you get away from the skeletons in the generator room, anyway? You said they cornered you."

I told her about the weird mortal girl, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who seemed to be able to see right through the Mist. I thought Thalia was going to call me crazy, but she just nodded.

"Some mortals are like that," she said. "Nobody knows why."

Suddenly I flashed on something I'd never considered. My _mom_ was like that. She had seen the Minotaur on Half-Blood Hill and known exactly what it was. She hadn't been surprised at all last year when I'd told her my friend Tyson was really a Cyclops. Maybe she'd known all along. No wonder she'd been so scared for me as I was growing up. She saw through the Mist even better than I did.

"Well, the girl was annoying," I said. "But I'm glad I didn't vaporize her. That would've been bad."

Thalia nodded. "Must be nice to be a regular mortal."

She said that as if she'd given it a lot of thought.

* * *

"Where you guys want to land?" Hank asked, waking me up from a nap.

I looked down and said, "Whoa."

I'd seen San Francisco in pictures before, but never in real life. It was probably the most beautiful city I'd ever seen: kind of like a smaller, cleaner Manhattan, if Manhattan had been surrounded by green hills and fog. There was a huge bay and ships, islands and sailboats, and the Golden Gate Bridge sticking up out of the fog. I felt like I should take a picture or something. _Greetings from Frisco. Haven't Died Yet. Wish You Were Here_.

"There," Zoë suggested. "By the Embarcadero Building."

"Good thinking," Chuck said. "Me and Hank can blend in with the pigeons."

We all looked at him.

"Kidding," he said. "Sheesh, can't statues have a sense of humor?"

As it turned out, there wasn't much need to blend in. It was early morning and not many people were around. We freaked out a homeless guy on the ferry dock when we landed. He screamed when he saw Hank and Chuck and ran off yelling something about metal angels from Mars.

We said our good-byes to the angels, who flew off to party with their statue friends. That's when I realized I had no idea what we were going to do next.

We'd made it to the West Coast. Artemis was here somewhere. Anthony too, I hoped. But I had no idea how to find them, and tomorrow was the winter solstice. Nor did I have any clue what monster Artemis has been hunting. It was supposed to find _us_ on the quest. It was supposed to "show the trail," but it never had. Now we were stuck on the ferry dock with only my money in my backpack, no friends, and no luck.

After a brief discussion, we agreed that we needed to figure out just what this mystery monster was.

"But how?" I asked.

"Nereus," Gretel said.

I looked at her. "What?"

"Isn't that what Apollo told you to do? Find Nereus?"

I nodded. I'd completely forgotten my last conversation with the sun god.

"The old man of the sea," I remembered. "I'm supposed to find him and force him to tell us what he knows. But how do I find him?"

Zoë made a face. "Old Nereus, eh?"

"You know him?" Thalia asked.

"My mother was a sea goddess. Yes, I know him. Unfortunately, he is never very hard to find. Just follow the smell."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Come," she said without enthusiasm. "I will show thee."

* * *

I knew I was in trouble when we stopped at a store. Five minutes later, Zoë had me outfitted in a snazzy blue sleeveless top with a sky blue jacket and some bootcut jeans, and even had some red lipstick. I felt like I was some kind of model, and I would be caught dead wearing anything fashionable before a monster could kill me.

"Wow," Gretel said as she looked at me and admired my new look. "You look completely like a siren mer-girl."

"Thanks a lot," I grumbled. "Why am I doing this again?"

"I told thee. To blend in."

She led the way back down to the waterfront. After a long time spent searching the docks, Zoë finally stopped in her tracks. She pointed down the pier where a punch of homeless guys were huddled together in blankets, waiting for the soup kitchen to open for lunch.

"He will be down there somewhere," Zoë said. "He never travels very far from the water. He likes to sun himself during the day."

"How do I know which one is him?"

"Sneak up," she said. "Act like you're a maiden. You will know him. He will smell...different."

"Great." I didn't want to ask for particulars or for a poparazzi. "And once I find him?"

"Grab him," she said. "And hold on. He will try anything to get rid of thee. Whatever he does, do not let go. Force him to tell thee about the monster."

"We've got your back," Thalia said. "We'll be rooting for you."

Gretel gave me a big thumbs-up.

In grumbled how nice it was to have super-powerful friends. Then I headed toward the dock.

I flipped my hair to the back of her head and walked down like a fashion model. I passed our homeless friend from the Embarcadero, who was still trying to warn the other guys about the metal angels from Mars.

He didn't smell good, but he didn't smell...different. I kept walking.

A couple of grimy dudes with plastic grocery bags for hats checked me out as I came closer.

"Hey there, missy." one of them muttered.

I moved away, a little creeped out. They smelled pretty bad, but just regular old bad. Nothing unusual.

There was a lady with a bunch of plastic flamingos sticking out of a shopping cart. She glared at me like I was going to steal her birds.

At the end of the pier, a guy who looked about a million years old was passed out in a patch of sunlight. He wore pajamas and a fuzzy bathrobe that probably used to be white. He was fat, with a white beard what had turned yellow, kind of like Santa Claus, if Santa had been rolled out of bed and dragged through a landfill.

And his smell?

As I got closer, I froze. He smelled bad, all right-but _ocean_ bad. Like hot seaweed and dead fish and brine. If the ocean had an ugly side...this guy was it.

I tried not to gag as I sat down near him like I was tired. Santa opened one eye suspiciously. I could feel him staring at me, but I didn't look. I tried to sound like I was disgusted by stupid school and stupid parents as I found myself a handheld mirror and pretended to smooch my eyelashes, figuring that might be reasonable.

Santa Claus went back to sleep.

I tensed. I knew this was going to look strange. I didn't know how the other homeless people would react. But I jumped Santa Claus.

"Ahhhhh!" he screamed. I meant to grab him, but he seemed to grab me instead. It was as if he'd never been asleep at all. He certainly didn't act like a weak old man. He had a grip like steel. "Help me!" he screamed as he squeezed me to death.

"That's a crime!" one of the other homeless guys yelled. "Kid rolling an old man like that!"

I rolled, all right-straight down the pier until my head slammed into a post. I was dazed for a second, and Nereus's grip slackened. He was making a break for it. Before he could, I regained my senses and tackled him from behind.

"I don't have any money!" He tried to get up and run, but I locked my arms around his chest. His rotten fish smell was awful, but I held on.

"I don't want money!" I said as he fought. "I'm a half-blood! I want information!"

That just made him struggle harder. "Heroes! Why do you always pick on me?"

"Because you know everything!"

He growled and tried to shake me off his back. It was like holding on to a roller coaster. He thrashed around, making it impossible for me to keep on my feet, but I gritted my teeth and squeezed tighter. We staggered toward the edge of the pier and I got an idea.

"Oh, no!" I said. "Not the water!"

The plan worked. Immediately, Nereus yelled in triumph and jumped off the edge. Together, we plunged into San Francisco Bay.

He must've been surprised when I tightened my grip, the ocean filling me with extra strength. But Nereus had a few tricks left, too. He changed shape until I was holding a sleek black steel.

I've heard people make jokes about trying to hold a greased pig, but I'm telling you, holding on to a seal in the water is harder. Nereus plunged straight down, wriggling and thrashing and spiraling through the dark water. If I hadn't been Poseidon's daughter, there's no way I could've stayed with him.

Nereus spun and expanded, turning into a killer whale, but I grabbed his dorsal fin as he burst out of the water.

A whole bunch of tourists went, "Whoa!"

I managed to wave at the crowd. _Yeah, we do this every day here in San Francisco_.

Nereus plunged into the water and turned into a slimy eel. I started to tie him into a knot until he realized what was going on and changed back to human form. "Why won't you drown?" he wailed, pummeling me with his fists.

"I'm Poseidon's daughter," I said.

"Curse that upstart! I was here first!"

Finally he collapsed on the edge of the boat dock. Above us was one of those tourist piers lined with shops, like a mall on water. Nereus was heaving and gasping. I was feeling great. I could've gone on all day, but I didn't tell him that. I wanted him to feel like he'd put up a good fight.

My friends ran down the steps from the pier.

"You got him!" Zoë said.

"You don't have to sound so amazed," I said.

Nereus moaned. "Oh, wonderful. An audience for my humiliation! The normal deal, I suppose? You'll let me go if I answer your question?"

"I've got more than one question," I said.

"Only one question per capture! That's the rule."

I looked at my friends.

This wasn't good. I needed to find Artemis, and I needed to figure out what the doomsday creature was. I also needed to know if Anthony was still alive, and how to rescue him. How could I ask that all in one question?

A voice inside me was screaming _Ask about Anthony!_ That's what I care about most.

But then I imagined what Anthony might say. He would never forgive me if I saved him and didn't save Olympus. Zoë would me to ask about Artemis, but Chiron had told us the monster was even more important.

I sighed. "All right, Nereus. Tell me where to find this terrible monster that could bring an end to the gods. The one Artemis was hunting.

The Old Man of the Sea smiled, showing off his mossy green teeth.

"Oh, that's too easy," he said evilly. "He's right there."

Nereus pointed to the water at my feet.

"Where?" I said.

"The deal is complete!" Nereus gloated. With a pop, he turned into a goldfish and did a backflip into the sea.

"You tricked me!" I yelled.

"Wait," Thalia eyes widened. "What is _that_?"

"MOOOOOOOO!"

I looked down, and there was my friend the cow serpent, swimming next to the dock. He nudged my shoe and gave me the sad brown eyes.

"Ah, Justin," I said. "Now now."

"Mooo!"

Gretel gasped. "He says he likes the Justin name, but that's not his real name."

"You can understand him?"

Gretel nodded. "It's a very old form of animal speech. But he says his real name is the Ophiotaurus."

"The Ophi-what?"

"It means serpent bull in Greek," Thalia said. "But what's it doing here?"

"Moooooooo!"

"He says Perci is his protector," Gretel announced. "And he's running from the bad people. He says they are close."

I was wondering how she got all that out of a single _moooooo_.

"Wait," Zoë said, looking at me. "You know this cow?"

I was feeling impatient, but I told them the story.

Thalia shook her head in disbelief. "And you just forgot to mention this before?"

"Well...yeah." It seemed silly, not that she said it, but things had been happening so fast. Justin, the Ophiotaurus, seemed like a minor detail.

"I am a fool," Zoë said suddenly. "I know this story!"

"What story?"

"From the War of the Titans," she said. "My...my father told me this tale, thousands of years ago. This is the beast we are looking for."

"Justin?" I looked down at the bull serpent. "But...he's too cute. He couldn't destroy the world."

"This is how we were wrong," Zoë said. "We've been anticipating a huge dangerous monster, but the Ophiotaurus does not bring down the gods that way. He must be sacrificed."

"MMMM," Justin lowed.

"I don't think he likes the S-word," Gretel said.

I patted Justin on the head, trying to calm him down. He let me scratch his ear, but he was trembling.

"How could anyone hurt him?" I said. "He's harmless."

Zoë nodded. "But there is power in killing innocence. Terrible power. The Fates ordained a prophecy eons ago, when this creature was born. They said that whoever killed the Ophiotaurus and sacrificed its entrails to fire would have the power to destroy the gods."

"MMMMMM!"

"Um," Gretel said. "Maybe we could avoid talking about _entrails_ , too."

Thalia stared at the cow serpent with wonder. "The power to destroy the gods...how? I mean, what would happen?"

"No one knows," Zoë said. "The first time, during the Titan war, the Ophiotaurus was in fact slain by a giant ally of the Titan's, but thy father, Zeus, sent an eagle to snatch the entrails away before they could be tossed into the fire. It was a close call. Now, after three thousand years, the Ophiotaurus is reborn."

"The Great Stirring." I muttered under my breath.

Thalia sat down on the dock. She stretched out her hand. Justin went right to her. Thalia placed her hand on his head. Justin shivered.

Thalia's expression bothered me. She almost looked...hungry. I've seen her wear that face before and I knew what it meant.

My eyes widened as I felt like I was reading her mind. "Oh no...don't tell me what I know you're thinking about, cuz! We're protecting him," I told her sternly, which was unlike me. "If Luke gets hold of him-"

"Luke wouldn't hesitate," Thalia muttered. "The power to overthrow Olympus. That's...that's huge."

"Yes, it is, my dear," a man's voice in a heavy French accent. "And it is a power _you_ shall unleash."

The Ophiotaurus made a whimpering sound and submerged.

I looked up. We'd been so busy talking, we'd allowed ourselves to be ambushed.

Standing behind us, his two-color eyes gleaming wickedly, was Dr. Thorn, the manticore himself.

* * *

"This is just pairrr-fect," the manticore gloated.

He was wearing a ratty black trench coat over his Westover Hall uniform, which was torn and stained. His military haircut had grown out spiky and greasy. He hadn't shaved recently, so his face was covered in silver stubble. Basically he didn't look much better than the guys down at the soup kitchen.

"Long ago the gods banished me to Persia," the manticore said. "I was forced to scrounge for food on the edges of the world, hiding in forests, devouring insignificant human farmers for my meals. I never got to fight any great heroes. I was not feared and admired in the old stories! But now that will change. The Titans shall honor me, and I shall feast on a flesh of half-bloods!"

On either side of him stood two armed security guys, some of the mortal mercenaries I'd seen in D.C. Two more stood on the next boat dock over, just in case we tried to escape that way. There were tourists all around-walking down the waterfront, shopping at the pier above us-but I knew that wouldn't stop the manticore from acting.

"Where...where are the skeletons?" I asked the manticore.

He sneered. "I do not need those foolish undead! The General thinks I am worthless? He will change his mind when I defeat you myself!"

I needed time to think. I had to save Justin. I could dive into the sea, but how could I make a quick getaway with a five-hundred-pound cow serpent? And what about my friends?

"We beat you once before," I said.

"Ha! You could barely fight me with a goddess on your side. And, alas...that goddess is preoccupied at the moment. There will be no help for you now."

Zoë notched an arrow and aimed it straight at the manticore's head. The guards on either side of us raised their guns.

"Wait!" I said. "Zoë, don't!"

The manticore smiled. "The girl is right, Zoë Nightshade. Put away your bow. It would be a shame to kill you before you witnessed Thalia's great victory."

"What are you talking about?" Thalia growled. She had her shield and spear ready.

"Surely it is clear," the manticore said. "This is your moment. This is why Lord Kronos brought you back to life. You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. You will bring its entrails to the sacred fire on the mountain. You will gain unlimited power. And for your sixteenth birthday, you will overthrow Olympus."

No one spoke. It made terrible sense. Thalia was only two days away from turning sixteen. She was a child of the Big Three. And here was a choice, a terrible choice that could mean the end of the gods. It was just like the prophecy said. I wasn't sure if I felt relieved, horrified, or disappointed. I wasn't the prophecy kid after all. Doomsday was happening right now.

I waited for Thalia to tell the manticore off, but she hesitated. SHe looked completely stunned.

"You know it is the right choice," the manticore told her. "Your friend Luke recognized it. You shall be reunited with him. You shall rule this world together under the auspices of the Titans. Your father abandoned you, Thalia. He cares nothing for you. And now you shall gain power over him. Crush the Olympians underfoot, as they deserve. Call the beast! It will come to you. Use your spear."

"Thalia," I said, "snap out of it!"

She looked at me the same way she had the morning she woke up on Half-Blood Hill, dazed and uncertain, It was almost like she didn't even know me. "I...I don't-"

"Your father helped you," I said. "He sent the metal angels. He turned you into a tree to preserve you."

Her hand tightened on the shaft of her spear.

I looked at Gretel desperately. Thank the gods, she understood what I needed. She raised her hands up and sang.

The manticore yelled, "Stop her!"

The guards had been targeting Zoë, and before they could figure out that the girl singing was the bigger problem, the wooden planks at their feet sprouted new branches and tangled their legs. Zoë let loose two quick arrows that exploded at their feet in clouds of sulfurous yellow smoke. Fart arrows!

The guards started coughing. The manticore shot spines in out direction, but they ricocheted off my lion's coat.

"Gretel," I said, "tell Justin to dive down and stay down!"

"Moooooo!" Gretel translated. I could only hope that Justin got the message.

"The cow…" Thalia muttered, still in a daze.

"Come on!" I pulled her along as we ran up the stairs to the shopping center on the pier. We dashed around the corner of the nearest store. I heard the manticore shouting at his minions, "Get those girls!" Tourists screamed as the guards shot blindly into the air.

We scrambled to the end of the pier. We hid behind a little kiosk filled with souvenir crystals-wind chimes and dream catchers and stuff like that, glittering in the sunlight. There was a water fountain next to us. Down below, a bunch of sea lions were sunning themselves on the rocks. The whole of San Francisco Bay spread out before us: the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, and the green hills and fog beyond that to the north. A picture-perfect moment, except for the fact that we were about to die and the world was going to end.

"Go over the side!" Zoë told me. "You can escape in the sea, Perci. Call on thy father for help. Maybe you can save the Ophiotaurus."

She was right, but I couldn't do it.

"I won't leave you guys," I said. "We fight together."

"You have to get word to camp!" Gretel said. "At least let them know what's going on!"

Then I noticed the crystals making rainbows in the sunlight. There was a drinking fountain next to me…

"Get word to camp," I muttered. "Good idea."

I uncapped Riptide and slashed off the top of the water fountain. Water burst out of the busted pipe and sprayed all over us.

Thalia gasped as the water hit her. The fog seemed to clear from her eyes. "Are you crazy?" she asked.

But Gretel understood. She was already fishing around in her pockets for a coin. She threw a golden drachma into the rainbows created by the mist and yelled, "O goddess, accept my offering!"

The mist rippled.

"Camp Half-Blood!" I said.

And there, shimmering in the Mast right next to us, was the last person I wanted to see: Mr. D, wearing his leopard-skin jogging suit and rummaging through the refrigerator.

He looked up lazily. "Do you mind?"

"Where's Chiron!" I shouted.

"How rude." Mr. D took a swig from a jug of grape juice. "Is that how you say hello?"

"Hello," I amended. "We're about to die! Where's Chiron?"

Mr. D considered that. I wanted to scream at him to hurry up, but I knew that wouldn't work. Behind us, footsteps and shouting-the manticore's troops were closing in.

"About to die," Mr. D mused. "How exciting. I'm afraid Chiron isn't here. Would you like me to take a message?"

I looked at my friends. "We're dead."

Thalia gripped her spear. She looked like her old angry self again. "Then we'll die fighting."

"How noble," Mr. D said, stifling a yawn. "So what is the problem, exactly?"

I didn't see that it would make a difference, but I told him about the Ophiotaurus.

"Mmm." He studied the contents of the fridge. "So that's it. I see."

"You don't even care!" I screamed. "You'd just as soon watch us die!'

"Let's see. I think I'm in the mood for pizza tonight."

I wanted to slash through the rainbow and disconnect, but I didn't have time. The manticore screamed, "There!" And we were surrounded. Two of the guards stood behind him. The other two appeared on the roofs of the pier shops above us. The manticore threw off his coat and transformed into his true self, his lion claws extended and his spiky tail bristling with poison barbs.

"Excellent," he said. He glanced at the apparitions in the mist and snorted. "Alone, without any _real_ help. Wonderful."

"You could _ask_ for help," Mr. D murmured to me, as if this were an amusing thought. "You could say please."

When wild boars fly, I thought. There was no way I was going to die begging a slob like Mr. D, just so he could laugh as we all got gunned down.

Zoë readied her arrows. Gretel lifted her vine whip. I held out my sword. Thalia raised her shield, and I noticed a tear running down her cheek. Suddenly it occurred to me: this happened to her before. She had been cornered on Half-Blood Hill. She'd willingly given her life for her friends. But this time, she couldn't save us.

How could I let that happen to her?

"Please, Mr. D," I muttered. "Help."

Of course, nothing happened.

The manticore grinned. "Spare the daughter of Zeus. She will join us soon enough. Kill the others."

The men raised their guns, and something strange happened. You know how you feel when all the blood rushes to your head, like if you hang upside down and turn right-side up too quickly? There was a rush like that all around me, and a sound like a huge sigh. The sunlight tinged with purple. I smelled grapes and something more sour-wine.

 _SNAP!_

It was the sound of many minds breaking at the same time. The sound of madness. One guard put his pistol between his teeth like it was a bone and ran around on all fours. Two others dropped their guns and started waltzing with each other. The fourth began doing what looked like an Irish clogging dance. It would have been funny if it hadn't been so terrifying.

"No!" screamed the manticore. "I will deal with you myself!"

His tail bristled, but the planks under his paws erupted into grape vines, which immediately began wrapping around the monster's body, sprouting new leaves and clusters of green baby grapes that ripened in seconds as the manticore shrieked, until he was engulfed in a huge mass of vines, leaves, and full clusters of purple grapes. Finally the grapes stopped shivering, and I had a feeling that somewhere inside there, the manticore was no more.

"Well," said Dionysus, closing his refrigerator. "That was fun."

I stared at him, horrified. "How could you...How did you-"

"Such gratitude," he muttered. "The mortals will come out of it. Too much explaining to do if I made their condition permanent. I hate writing reports to Father."

He stared resentfully at Thalia. "I hope you learned your lesson, girl. It isn't easy to resist power, is it?"

Thalia blushed as if she were ashamed.

"Mr. D," Gretel said in amazement. "You...saved us."

"Mmm. Don't make me regret it, dryad. Now get going, Perci Jackson. I've brought you a few hours at most."

"The Ophiotaurus," I said. "Can you get it to camp?"

Mr. D sniffed. "I do not transport livestock. That's your problem."

"But where do we go?"

Dionysus looked at Zoë. "Oh, I think the huntress knows. You must enter at sunset today, you know, or all is lost. Now good-bye. My pizza is waiting."

"Mr. D," I said.

He raised his eyebrow.

"You called me by my right name," I said. "You called me Perci Jackson."

"I most certainly did not, Penny Johnson. Now off with you!"

He waved his hand, and his image disappeared in the mist.

All around us, the manticore's minions were still acting completely nuts. One of them had found our friend the homeless guy, and they were having a serious conversation about metal angels from Mars. Several other guards were harassing the tourists, making animal noises and trying to steal their shoes.

I looked at Zoë. "What did he mean…'You know where to go'?"

Her face was the color of the fog. She pointed across the bay, past the Golden Gate. In the distance, a single mountain rose up above the cloud layer.

"The garden of my sisters," she said. "I must go home."


	16. We Meet the Dragon of Eternal Bad Breath

[A/N: Sorry about the long wait! I've been busy with my other stories, but I'm gonna try to catch up on all of them. And don't worry, lovers, I'll make Rachel a boy in my Entirely Genderbent version of the Perci Jackson story. This one is where only Percy, Annabeth, and Grover are different genders, but I will make a story where almost every half-blood is genderbent (I may be more confusing and...I don't know, hard to understand, but it's a fanfic, so we just write from our perspective). I also gotta be honest, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover is one of my favorite trios in the books. It's just very warming when they tell each other's secrets and background stories and how close and bonded they are, despite almost always being apart most of the time. I also find it interesting how most trios always have a main character who is more of a leader, in a way, yet new to a different world, a companion who acts like a comic relief, yet is a loyal friend, and a girl who is the brains and mature one of the group. Anywho, here's chapter 16 of the Titan's Curse!]

 **Chapter 16**

We Meet the Dragon of Eternal Bad Breath

"We will never make it," Zoë said. "We are moving too slow. But we cannot leave the Ophiotaurus."

"Mooo," Justin said. He swam next to me as we jogged along the waterfront. We'd left the shopping center pier far behind. We were heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was a lot farther than I'd realized. The sun was already dipping in the west.

"I don't get it," I said. "Why do we have to get there at sunset?"

"The Hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset," Zoë said. "We can only enter their garden as day changes to night."

"What happens if we miss it?"

"Tomorrow is winter solstice. If we miss sunset tonight, we would have to wait until tomorrow evening. And by then, the Olympian Council will be over. We must free Lady Artemis tonight."

Or Anthony will be dead, I thought, but I didn't say that.

"We need a car," Thalia said.

"But what about Justin?" I asked.

Gretel stopped her tracks. "I've got an idea! The Ophiotaurus can appear in different bodies of water, right?"

"Well, yeah," I said. "I mean, he was in Long Island Sound. Then he just popped into the water at Hoover Dam. And now he's here."

"So maybe we could coax him back to Long Island Sound," Gretel said. "Then Chiron could help us get him to Olympus."

"But he was following _me_ ," I said. "If I'm not there, would he know where he's going?"

"Moo," Justin said forlornly.

"I...I can show him," Gretel said. "I'll go with him."

I stared at her. Gretel was no fan of the water. She'd almost drowned last summer in the Sea of Monsters, and she couldn't swim very well because of her dryad nature.

"I'm the only one who can talk to him," Gretel said. "It makes sense."

She bent down and said something in Justin's ear. Justin shivered, then made a contented, lowing sound.

"The blessing of the Wild," Gretel said. "That should help with safe passage. Perci, pray to your dad, too. See if he will grant us safe passage through the seas."

I didn't understand how they could possibly swim back to Long Island from California. Then again, monsters didn't travel the same way as humans. I'd seen plenty of evidence of that.

I tried to concentrate on the waves, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the tide.

"Dad," I said. "Help us. Get the Ophiotaurus and Gretel safely to camp. Protect them at sea."

"A prayer like that needs a sacrifice," Thalia said. "Something big."

I thought for a second. Then I took off my coat.

"Perci," Gretel said. "Are you sure? That lion skin...that's really helpful. Hercules used it!"

As soon as she said that, I realized something.

I glanced at Zoë, who was watching me carefully. I realized I _did_ know who Zoë's hero had been-the one who'd ruined her life, gotten her kicked out of her family, and never even mentioned how she'd help him: Hercules, a hero I'd admired all my life.

"If I'm going to survive," I said, "it won't be because I've got a lion-skin cloak. I'm not gonna repeat Hercules's bidding."

I threw the coat into the bay. It turned back into a golden lion skin, flashing in the light. Then, as it began to sink beneath the waves, it seemed to dissolve into sunlight on the water.

The sea breeze picked up.

Gretel took a deep breath. "Well, no time to lose."

She jumped in the water and immediately began to sink. Justin glided next to her and let Gretel take hold of his neck.

"Be careful," I told her.

"We will," Gretel said. "Okay, um...Justin? We're going to Long Island. It's east. Over that way."

"Moooo?" Justin said.

"Yes," Gretel answered. "Long Island. It's this island. And...it's long. Oh, let's just start."

"Mooo!"

Justin lurched forward. He started to submerge and Gretel said, "I can't breathe underwater! Just thought I'd mention-" _Ghub!_

Under they went, and I hoped my father's protection would extend to little things, like breathing.

"Well, that is one problem addressed," Zoë said. "But how can we get to my sisters' garden?"

"Thalia's right," I said. "We need a car. But there's nobody to help us here. Unless we, uh, burrowed one."

I didn't like that option. I mean, sure this was a life-or-death situation, but still, it was stealing, and it was bound to get us noticed.

"Wait," Thalia said. She started rifling through her backpack. "There _is_ somebody in San Francisco who can help us. I've got the address here somewhere."

"Who?" I asked.

Thalia pulled out a crumpled piece of notebook paper and held it up. "Professor Chase. Anthony's dad."

* * *

After hearing Anthony gripe about his dad for two years, I was expecting him to have devil horns and fangs. I was _not_ expecting him to be wearing an old-fashioned aviator's cap and goggles. He looked so weird, with his eyes bugging out through the glasses, that we all took a step back on the front porch.

"Hello, young ladies," he said in a friendly voice. "Are you delivering my airplanes?"

Thalia, Zoë, and I looked at each other warily.

"Um, no, sir," I said.

"Drat," he said. "I need three more Sopwith Camels."

"Right," I said, though I had no clue what he was talking about. "We're friends of Anthony."

"Anthony?" He straightened as if I'd just given him an electric shock. "Is he all right? Has something happened?"

None of us answered, but our faces must've told him that something was very wrong. He took off his cap and goggles. He had sandy-colored hair like Anthony and intense brown eyes. He was handsome, I guess, for an older guy, but it looked like he hadn't shaved in a couple of days, and his shirt was buttoned wrong, so one side of his collar stuck up higher than the other side.

"You'd better come in," he said.

* * *

It didn't look like a house they'd just moved into. There were LEGO robots on the stairs and two cats sleeping on the sofa in the living room. The coffee table was stacked with magazines, and a little kid's winter coat was spread on the floor. The whole house smelled like fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies. There was jazz music coming from the kitchen. It seemed like a messy, happy kind of house-the kind of place that had been lived in forever.

"Dad!" a little boy screamed. "He's taking apart my robots!"

"Bobby," Dr. Chase called absently, "don't take apart your brother's robots!"

" _I'm_ Bobby," the little boy protested. "He's Matthew!"

"Matthew," Dr. Chase called, "don't take apart your brother's robots!"

"Okay, Dad!"

Dr. Chase turned to us. "We'll go upstairs to my study. This way."

"Honey?" a woman called. Anthony's stepmom appeared in the living room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She was a pretty Asian woman with red highlighted hair tied in a bun.

"Who are our guests?" she asked.

"Oh," Dr. Chase said. "This is…"

He stared at us blankly.

"Frederick," she chided. "You forgot to ask them their names?"

"We introduced ourselves a little uneasily, but Mrs. Chase seemed really nice. She asked if we were hungry. We admitted we were, and she told us she'd bring us some cookies and sandwiches and sodas.

"Dear," Dr. Chase said. "They came about Anthony."

I half expected Mrs. Chase to turn into a raving lunatic at the mention of her stepson, but she just pursed her lips and looked concerned. "All right. Go on up to the study and I'll bring you some food." She smiled at me. "Nice meeting you, Perci. I've heard a lot about you. I love your hair."

* * *

Upstairs, we walked into Dr. Chase's study and I said, "Whoa!"

The room was wall-to-wall books, but what really caught my attention were the war toys. There was a huge table with miniature tanks and soldiers fighting along a blue painted river, with hills and fake trees and stuff. Old-fashioned biplanes hung on strings from the ceiling, tilted at crazy angles like they were in the middle of a dogfight.

Dr. Chase smiled. "Yes. The Third Battle of Ypres. I'm writing a paper, you see, on the use of Sopwith Camels to strafe enemy lines. I believe they played a much greater role than they've been given credit for."

He plucked a biplane from its string and swept it across the battlefield, making airplane engine noises as he knocked down little German soldiers.

"Oh, right." I said. I knew Anthony's dad was a professor of military history. He'd never mentioned he played with toy soldiers.

Zoë came over and studied the battlefield. "The German lines were farther from the river."

Dr. Chase stared at her. "How do you know that?"

"I was there," she said matter-of-factly. "Artemis wanted to show us how horrible war was, the way mortal men fight each other. And how foolish, too. The battle was a complete waste."

Dr. Chase opened his mouth in shock. "You-"

"She's a Hunter, sir," Thalia said. "But that's not why we're here. We need-"

"You saw the Sopwith Camels?" Dr. Chase said. "How many were there? What formations did they fly?"

"Sir," Thalia broke in again. "Anthony is in danger."

That got his attention. He set the biplane down.

"Of course," he said. "Tell me everything."

It wasn't easy, but we tried. Meanwhile, the afternoon light was fading outside. We were running out of time.

When we'd finished, Dr. Chase collapsed in his leather recliner. He laced his hands. "My poor brave Anthony. We must hurry."

"Sir, we need transportation to Mount Tamalpais," Zoë said. "And we need it immediately."

"I'll drive you. Hmm, it would be faster to fly in my Camel, but it only seats two."

"Whoa, you have an actual biplane?" I said.

"Down at Crissy Field," Dr. Chase said proudly. "That's the reason I had to move here. My sponsor is a private collector with some of the finest World War I relics in the world. He let me restore the Sopwith Camel-"

"Sir," Thalia said. "Just a car would be great. And it might be better if we went without you. It's too dangerous."

Dr. Chase frowned uncomfortably. "Now wait a minute, young lady. Anthony is my son. Dangerous or not, I...I can't just-"

"Snacks," Mrs. Chase announced. She pushed through the door with a tray full of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and Cokes and cookies fresh out of the oven, the chocolate chips still gooey. Thalia and I inhaled a few cookies while Zoë said, "I can drive, sir. I'm not as young as I look. I promise not to destroy your car."

Mrs. Chase knit her eyebrows. "What's this about?

"Anthony is in danger," Dr. Chase said. "On Mount Tam. I would drive them, but...apparently it's no place for mortals."

It sounded like it was really hard for him to get that last part out.

I waited for Hrs. Chase to say no. I mean, what mortal parent would allow three underage teenagers to borrow their car? To my surprise, Mrs. Chase nodded. "Then they'd better get going."

"Right!" Dr. Chase jumped up and started patting his pockets. "My keys…"

His wife sighed. "Frederick, honestly. You'd lose your head if it weren't wrapped inside your aviator hat. The keys are hanging on the peg by the front door."

"Right!" Dr. Chase said.

Zoë grabbed a sandwich. "Thank you both. We should go. _Now_."

We hustled out the door and down the stairs, the Chases right behind us."

"Perci," Mrs. Chase called as I was leaving, "tell Anthony...Tell him he still has a home here, will you? Remind him of that."

I took one last look at the messy living room, Anthony's half brothers spilling LEGOs and arguing, the smell of cookies filling the air. Not a bad place, I thought.

"I'll tell him," I promised.

We ran out to the yellow VW convertible parked in the driveway. The sun was going down. I figured we had less than an hour to save Anthony.

* * *

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Thalia demanded.

Zoë glared at her. "I cannot control traffic."

"You both sound like my mother," I said.

"Shut up!" they said in unison.

Zoë waved in and out of traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun was sinking on the horizon when we finally got into Marin County and exited the highway.

The roads were insanely narrow, winding through forests and up the sides of hills and around the edges of steep ravines. Zoë didn't slow down at all.

"Why does everything smell like cough drops?" I asked.

"Eucalyptus," Zoë pointed to the huge trees all around us.

"The stuff koala bears eat?"

"And monsters," she said. "They love chewing the leaves. Especially dragons."

"Dragons chew eucalyptus leaves?"

"Believe me," Zoë said. "If you had dragon breath, you would chew eucalyptus too."

I didn't question her, but I did keep my eyes peeled more closely as we drove. Ahead of us loomed Mount Tamalpais. I guess, in terms of the mountains, it was a small one, but it looked plenty huge as we were driving toward it.

"So that's the Mountain of Despair?" I asked.

"Yes," Zoë said tightly.

"Why do they call it that?"

She was silent for almost a mile before answering, "After the war between the Titans and the gods, many of the Titans were punished and imprisoned. Kronos was sliced to pieces and thrown into Tartarus. Kronos's right-hand man, the general of his forces, was imprisoned up there, on the summit, just beyond the Garden of the Hesperides."

"The General," I said. Clouds seemed to be swirling around the peak, as though the mountain was drawing them in, spinning them like a top. "What's going on up there? A storm?"

Zoë didn't answer. I got the feeling she knew exactly what the clouds meant, and she didn't like it.

"We have to concentrate," Thalia said. "The Mist is really strong here."

"The magical kind or the natural kind?" I asked.

"Both."

The gray clouds swirled even thicker over the mountain, and we kept driving straight toward them. We were out of the forest now, into wide open spaces of cliffs and grass and rocks and fog.

I happened to glance down at the ocean as we passed a scenic curve, and I saw something that made me jump out of my seat.

"Look!" Be we turned a corner and the ocean disappeared behind the hills.

"What?" Thalia asked.

"A big white ship," I said. "Docked near the beach. It looked like a cruise ship."

Her eyes widened. "Luke's ship?"

I wanted to say I wasn't sure. It might be a coincidence. But I knew better. The _Princess Andromeda_ , Luke's demon cruise ship, was docked at that beach. That's why he'd sent his ship all the way down to the Panama Canal. It was the only way to sail it from the East Coast to California.

"We will have company, then," Zoë said grimly. "Kronos's army."

I was about to answer, when suddenly the hairs on my back of my neck stood up. Thalia shouted, "Stop the car. NOW!"

Zoë must've sensed something was wrong, because she slammed on the brakes without question. The yellow VW spun twice before coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff.

"Out!" Thalia opened the door and pushed me hard. We both rolled onto the pavement. The next second: _BOOOM!_

Lightning flashed, and Dr. Chase's Volkswagon erupted like a canary-yellow grenade. I probably would've been killed by shrapnel except for Thalia's shield, which appeared over me. I heard a sound like letal rain, and when I opened my eyes, we were surrounded by wreckage. Part of the VW's fender had impaled itself in the street. The smoking hood was spinning in circles. Pieces of yellow metal were strewn across the road.

I swallowed the taste of smoke out of my mouth, and looked at Thalia. "You saved my life."

" _One shall perish by a parent's hand_ ," she muttered. "Curse him. He would destroy me? _Me_?"

It took me a second to realize she was talking about her dad. "Oh, hey, that couldn't have been Zeus's lightning bolt. No way."

"Whose, then?" Thalia demanded.

"I don't know. Zoë said Kronos's name. Maybe he-"

Thalia shook her head, looking angry and stunned. "No. That wasn't it."

"Wait," I said. "Where's Zoë? Zoë!"

We both got up and ran around the blasted VW. Nothing inside. Nothing either direction the road. I looked down the cliff. No sign of her.

"Zoë!" I shouted.

Then she was standing right next to me, pulling me by my arm. "Silence! Do you want to wake Ladon?"

"You mean we're here?"

"Very close," she said. "Follow me."

Sheets of fog were drifting right across the road. Zoë stepped into one of them, and when the fog passed, she was no longer there. Thalia and I looked at each other.

"Concentrate on Zoë," Thalia advised. "We are following her. Go straight into the fog and keep that in mind."

"Wait, Thalia. About what happened back on the pier...I mean, with the manticore and the sacrifice-"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You wouldn't actually have...you know?"

She hesitated. "I was just shocked. That's all."

"Zeus didn't send that lightning bolt at the car. It was Kronos. He's trying to manipulate you, make you angry at your dad."

She took a deep breath. "Perci, I know you're trying to make me feel better. Thanks. But come on. We need to go."

She stepped into the fog, into the Mist, and I followed.

When the fog cleared, I was still on the side of the mountain, but the road was dirt. The grass was thicker. The sunset made a bloodred slash across the sea. The summit of the mountain seemed closer now, swirling with storm clouds and raw power. There was only one path to the top, directly in front of us. And it led through a lush meadow of shadows and flowers: the garden of twilight, just like I'd seen in my dream.

* * *

If it hadn't been for the enormous dragon, the garden would've been the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. The grass shimmered with silvery evening light, and the flowers were such brilliant colors they almost glowed in the dark. Stepping stones of polished black marble led around either side of a five-story-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with golden apples, and I don't mean _yellow_ golden apples like in the grocery store. I mean _real_ golden apples. I can't describe why they were so appealing, but as soon as I smelled their fragrance, I knew that one bite would be the most delicious thing I'd ever tasted.

"The apples of immortality," Thalia said. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus."

I wanted to step right up and pluck one, except for the dragon coiled around the tree.

Now, I don't know what you think of when I say _dragon_. Whatever it is, it's not scary enough. The serpent's body was as thick as a booster rocket, glinting with coppery scales. He had more heads than I could count, as if a hundred deadly pythons had been fused together. He appeared to be asleep. The heads lay curled in a big spaghetti-like mound on the grass, all the eyes closed.

"That's the same dragon that almost killed Luke," I said to Thalia. "The one that gave him his scar. He was given a quest to come here and steal an apple before he...you get the point." Thalia only nodded her head.

Then the shadows in front of us began to move. There was a beautiful, eerie singing, like voices from the bottom of a well. I reached for Riptide, but Zoë stopped my hand. Four figures shimmered into existence, four young women who looked very much like Zoë. They all wore white Greek chitons. Their skin was like caramel. Silky black hair tumbled loose around their shoulders. It was strange, but I'd never realized how beautiful Zoë was until I saw her siblings, the Hesperides. They looked just like Zoë-gorgeous and probably very dangerous.

"Sisters," Zoë said.

"We do not see any sister," one of the girls said coldly. "We see two half-bloods and a Hunter. All of whom shall soon die."

"You've got it wrong," I stepped forward. "Nobody is going to die."

The girls studied me. They had eyes like volcanic rock, glassy and completely black.

"Persephone Jackson, the first true daughter of Poseidon," one of them said.

"Yes," mused another. "I do not see why she is a threat."

"Who said I was a threat?"

The fist Hesperid glanced behind her, toward the top of the mountain. "They fear thee. They are unhappy that _this_ one has not yet killed thee."

She pointed at Thalia.

"Tempting sometimes," Thalia admitted. "But no, thanks. She's my friend."

"There are no friends here, daughter of Zeus," the girl said. "Only enemies. Go back."

"Not without Anthony," Thalia said.

"And Artemis," Zoë said. "We must approach the mountain."

"You know he will kill thee," the girl said. "You are no match for him."

"Artemis must be freed," Zoë insisted. "Let us pass."

The girl shook her head. "You have no rights here anymore. We have only to raise our voices and Ladon will wake."

"He will not hurt me," Zoë said.

"No? And what about thy so-called friends?"

Then Zoë did the last thing I expected. She shouted, "Ladon! Wake!"

The dragon stirred, glittering like a mountain of pennies. The Hesperides yelped and scattered. The lead girl said to Zoë, "Are you mad?"

"You never had any courage, sister," Zoë said. "That is thy problem."

The dragon Ladon was writhing now, a hundred heads whipping around, tongues flickering and tasting the air. Zoë took a step forward, her arms raised.

"Zoë, don't," Thalia said. "You're not a Hesperid anymore. He'll kill you."

"Ladon is trained to protect the tree," Zoë said. "Skirt around the edges of the garden. Go up the mountain. As long as I am a bigger threat, he should ignore thee."

" _Should_ ," I said. "Not exactly reassuring."

"It is the only way," she said. "Even the three of us together cannot fight him."

Ladon opened his mouths. The sound of a hundred heads hissing at once sent a shiver down my back, and that was before his breath hit me. The smell was like acid. It made my eyes burn, my skin crawl, and my hair stand on end. I remembered the time a rat had died inside our apartment wall in New York in the middle of the summer. This stench was like that, expect a hundred times stronger, and mixed with the smell of chewed eucalyptus. I promised myself right then that I would _never_ ask a school nurse for another cough drop.

I wanted to draw my sword. But then I remembered my dream of Zoë and Hercules, and how Hercules had failed in a head-on assault. I decided to trust Zoë's judgement.

Thalia went left. I went right. Zoë walked straight toward the monster.

"It's me, my little dragon," Zoë said. "Zoë has come back."

Ladon shifted forward, then back. Some of the mouths closed. Some kept hissing. Dragon confusion. Meanwhile, the Hesperides shimmered and turned into shadows. The voice of the eldest whispered, "Fool."

"I used to feed thee by hand," Zoë continued, speaking in a soothing voice as she stepped toward the golden tree. "Do you still like lamb's meat?"

The dragon's eyes glinted.

Thalia and I were about halfway around the garden. Ahead, I could see a single rocky trail leading up to the black peak of the mountain. The storm swirled above it, spinning on the summit like it was the axis for the whole world.

We'd almost made it out of the meadow when something went wrong. I felt the dragon's mood shift. Maybe Zoë got too close. Maybe the dragon realized he was hungry. Whatever the reason, he lunged at Zoë.

Two thousand years of training kept her alive. She dodged one set of slashing fangs and tumbled under another, weaving through the dragon's heads as she ran in our direction, gagging from the monster's horrible breath.

I drew Riptide to help.

"No!" Zoë panted. "Run!"

The dragon snapped at her side, and Zoë cried out. Thalia uncovered Aegis, and the dragon hissed. In his moment of indecision, Zoë sprinted past us up the mountain, and we followed.

The dragon didn't try to pursue. He hissed and stomped the ground, but I guess he was well trained to guard that tree. He wasn't going to be lured off, even by the tasty prospect of eating some heroes.

We ran up the mountain as the Hesperides resumed their song in the shadows behind us. The music didn't sound so beautiful to me now-more like the sound track for a funeral.

* * *

At the top of the mountain were ruins, blocks of black granite and marble as big as houses. Broken columns. Statues of bronze that looked as though they'd been half melted.

"The ruins of Mount Othrys," Thalia whispered in awe.

"Yes," Zoë said. "It was not here before. This is bad."

"What's Mount Othrys?" I asked, feeling like a fool as usual.

"The mountain fortress of the Titans," Zoë said. "In the first war, Olympus and Othrys were the two rival capitals of the world. Othrys was-" She winced and held her side.

"You're hurt," I said. "I have nectar." I was about to slip my backpack off, when she stopped me.

"No! It is nothing. I was saying...in the first war, Pthrys was blasted to pieces."

"But...how is it here?"

Thalia looked around cautiously as we picked our way through the rubble, past blocks of marble and broken archways. "It moves in the same way that Olympus moves. It always exists on the edges of civilization. But the fact that it is here, on _this_ mountain, is not good."

"Why?"

"This is Atlas's mountain," Zoë said. "Where he holds-" She froze. Her voice was ragged with despair. "Where he used to hold up the sky."

We had reached the summit. A few yards ahead of us, gray clouds swirled in a heavy vortex, making a funnel cloud that almost touched the mountaintop, but instead rested on the shoulders of a twelve-year-old girl with auburn hair and a tattered silvery dress: Artemis, her legs bound to the rock with celestial bronze chains. This is what I had seen in my dream. It hadn't been a cavern roof that Artemis was forced to hold. It was the roof of the world.

"My lady!" Zoë rushed forward, but Artemis said, "Stop! It is a trap. You must leave now."

Her voice was strained. She was drenched in sweat. I had never seen a goddess in pain before, but the weight of the sky was clearly too much for Artemis.

Zoë was crying. She ran forward despite Artemis's protests, and tugged at the chains.

A booming voice spoke behind us: "Ah, how touching."

We turned. The General was standing there in his brown silk suit. At his side were Luke and half a dozen dracaenae bearing the golden sarcophagus of Kronos. Anthony stood at Luke's side. He had his hands cuffed behind his back, a gag in his mouth, and Luke was holding the point of his sword to his throat.

I met his eyes, trying to ask him a thousand questions. There was just one message he was sending me, though: _RUN_.

"Luke," Thalia snarled. "Let him go."

Luke's smile was weak and pale. He looked even worse than he had three days ago in D.C. "That is the General's decision, Thalia. But it's good to see you again."

Thalia spat at him.

The General chuckled. "So much for old friends. And you, Zoë. It's been a long time. How is my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you."

"Do not respond," Artemis groaned. "Do not challenge him."

"Wait a second," I said. "You're Atlas?"

The General glanced at me. "So, even the stupidest of heroes can finally figure something out. Yes, I am Altas, the general of the Titans and terror of the gods. Congratulations. I will kill you presently, as soon as I deal with this wretched girl."

"You're not going to hurt Zoë," I said. "I won't let you."

The General sneered. "You have no right to interfere, little hero. This is a family matter."

I frowned. "A family matter?"

"Yes," Zoë said bleakly. "Atlas is my father."


	17. I Put on a Few Million Extra Pounds

**Chapter 17**

I Put on a Few Million Extra Pounds

The horrible thing was: I could see the family resemblance. Atlas had the same regal expression as Zoë, the same cold proud look in his eyes that Zoë sometimes got when she was mad, though on him it looked a thousand times more evil. He was all the things I'd originally disliked about Zoë, with none of the good I'd come to appreciate.

"Let Artemis go," Zoë demanded.

Atlas walked closer to the chained goddess. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her, then? By my guest."

Zoë opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Do not offer, Zoë! I forbid you."

Atlas smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit at him, almost taking off his fingers.

"Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled. "You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Lord Kronos rules again, and this is the center of our place. It will teach those weaklings some humility."

I looked at Anthony. He was desperately trying to tell me something. He motioned his head toward Luke. But all I could do was stare at her. I hadn't noticed before, but something about him had changed. His blonde hair was now streaked with gray.

"From holding the sky," Thalia muttered, as if she'd read my mind. "The weight should've killed her."

"I don't understand," I said. "Why can't Artemis just let go of the sky?"

Atlas laughed. "How little you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their mighty children, the Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening the mountain and everything within a hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden, there is no escape." Atlas smiled. "Unless someone else takes it from you."

He approached us, studying Thalia and me. "So these are the best heroines of the age, eh? Not much of a challenge."

"Fight us," I said. "And let's see."

"Have the gods taught you nothing? An immortal does not fight a mere mortal directly. It is beneath our dignity. I will have Luke crush you instead."

"So you're another coward," I said.

Atlas's eyes glowed with hatred. With difficulty, he turned his attention to Thalia.

"As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems Luke was wrong about you."

"I wasn't wrong," Luke managed. He looked terribly weak, and he spoke every word as if it were painful. If I didn't hate his guts so much, I almost would've felt sorry for him. "Thalia, you still can join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!"

He waved his hand, and next to us a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus. I could imagine Justin in that pool. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I was sure I could hear Justin mooing.

 _Don't think about him!_ Suddenly Gretel's voice was inside my mind-the empathy link. I could feel her emotions. She was on the verge of panic. _I'm losing Justin. Block the thought!_

I tried to make my mind go blank. I tried to think about basketball players, skateboards, the different kinds of candy in my mom's shop. Anything but Justin.

"Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus," Luke persisted. "And you will be more powerful than the gods."

"Luke…" Her voice was full of pain. "What happened to you?"

"Don't you remember all those times we talked? All those times we cursed the gods? Our fathers have done nothing for us. They have no right to rule the world!"

Thalia shook her head. "Free Anthony. Let him go."

"If you join me," Luke promised, "it can be like old times. The three of us together. Fighting for a better world. Please, Thalia, if you don't agree…"

His voice faltered. "It's my last chance. He will use the other way if you don't agree. Please."

I didn't know what he meant, but the fear in his voice sounded real enough. I believed that Luke was in danger. His life depended on Thalia's joining his cause. And I was afraid Thalia might believe it, too.

"Do not, Thalia," Zoë warned. "We must fight them."

Luke waved his hand again, and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one at camp. A sacrificial flame.

"Thalia," I said. "No."

Behind Luke, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did. I saw images in the mist all around us: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful palace rising around us, made of fear and shadow.

"We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised, in a voice so strained it was hardly his. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are not weak."

He pointed toward the ocean, and my heart fell. Marching up the side of the mountain, from the beach where the _Princess Andromeda_ was docked, was a great army. Dracaenae and Laestrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hellhounds, harpies, and other things I couldn't even name. The whole ship must've been emptied, because there were hundreds, many more than I'd seen on board last summer. And they were marching toward us. In a few minutes, they would be here.

"This is only a taste of what is to come," Luke said. "Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help."

For a terrible moment, Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Luke, her eyes full of pain, as if the only thing she wanted in the world was to believe him. Then she leveled her spear. "You aren't Luke. I don't know you anymore."

"Yes, you do, Thalia," he pleaded. "Please. Don't make me...Don't make _him_ destroy you."

There was no time. If that army got to the top of the hill, we would be overwhelmed. I met Anthony's eyes again. He nodded.

I looked at Thalia and Zoë, and I decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to die fighting with friends like this.

"Now," I said.

Together, we charged.

* * *

Thalia went straight for Luke. The power of her shield was so great that his dragon-women bodyguards fled in a panic, dropping the golden coffin and leaving him alone. But despite his sickly appearance, Luke was still quick with his sword. He snarled like a wild animal and counterattacked. When his sword, Backbiter, met Thalia's shield, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.

As for me, I did the stupidest thing in my life, which is saying a lot. I attacked the Titan Lord Atlas.

He laughed as I approached. A huge javelin appeared in his hands. His silk suit melted into full Greek battle armor. "Go on, then!"

"Perci!" Zoë said. "Beware!"

I knew what she was warning me about. Chiron had told me long ago: _Immortals are constrained by ancient rules. But a hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as he has the nerve_. Once I attacked, however, Atlas was free to attack back directly, with all his might.

I swung my sword, and Atlas knocked me aside with the shaft of his javelin. I flew through the air and slammed into a black wall. It wasn't Mist anymore. The palace was rising, brick by brick. It was becoming real.

"Foolish girl!" Atlas screamed gleefully, swatting aside one of Zoë's arrows. "DId you think, simply because you could challenge that petty war god, that you could stand up to _me_?"

The mention of Ares sent a jolt through me. I shook off my daze and charged again. If I could get to that pool of water, I could double my strength.

The javelin's point slashed toward me like a scythe. I raised Riptide, planning to cut off his weapon at the shaft, but my arm felt like lead. My sword suddenly weighed a ton.

And I remembered Ares's warning, spoken on the beach in Los Angeles so long ago: _When you need it most, your sword will fail you_.

 _Not now!_ I pleaded. But it was no good. I tried to dodge, but the javelin caught me in the chest and sent me flying like a rag doll. I slammed into the ground, my head spinning. I looked up and found I was at the feet of Artemis, still straining under the weight of the sky.

"Run, young maiden," she told me. "You must run!"

Atlas was taking his time coming toward me. My sword was gone. It had skittered away over the edge of the cliff. It might reappear in my pocket-maybe in a few seconds-but it didn't matter. I'd be dead by then. Luke and Thalia were fighting like demons, lightning crackling around them. Anthony was on the ground, desperately struggling to free his hands.

"Die, little hero," Atlas said.

He raised his javelin to impale me.

"No!" Zoë yelled, and a volley of silver arrows sprouted from the armpit chink in Atlas's armor.

"ARGH!" He bellowed and turned toward his daughter.

I reached down and felt Riptide back in my pocket. I couldn't fight Atlas, even with a sword. And then a chill went down my back. I remembered the words of the prophecy: _The Titan's curse must one withstand_. I couldn't hope to beat Atlas. But there was someone else who might stand a chance.

"The sky," I told the goddess. "Give it to me."

"No, brave maiden," Artemis said. Her forehead was beaded with metallic sweat, like quicksilver. "You don't know what you're asking. It will crush you!"

"Anthony took it!"

"He barely survived. He had the spirit higher than any boy I've come across, and you have the heart bigger than a true huntress. You will not last so long."

"I'll die anyway," I said. "Give me the weight of the sky!"

I didn't wait for her answer. I took out Riptide and slashed through her chains. Then I stepped next to her and braced myself on one knee-holding up my hands-and touched the cold, heavy clouds. For a moment, Artemis and I bore the weight together. It was the heaviest thing I'd ever felt, as if I were being crushed under a thousand trucks. I wanted to black out from the pain, but I breathed deeply. _I can do this_.

Then Artemis slipped out from under the burden, and I held it alone.

Afterward, I tried many times to explain what it felt like. I couldn't.

Every muscle in my body turned to fire. My bones felt like they were melting. I wanted to scream, but I didn't have the strength to open my mouth. I began to sink, lower and lower to the ground, the sky's weight crushing me.

 _Fight back!_ Gretel's voice said inside my head. _Don't give up!_

I concentrated on breathing. If I could just keep the sky aloft a few more seconds. I thought about Bianca, who had given her life so we could get here. If she could do that, I could hold the sky.

My vision turned fuzzy. Everything was tinged with red. I caught glimpses of the battle, but I wasn't sure if I was seeing clearly. There was Atlas in full battle armor, jabbing with his javelin, laughing insanely as he fought. And Artemis, a blur of silver. She had two wicked hunting knives, each as long as her arm, and she slashed wildly at the Titan, dodging and leaping with unbelievable grace. She seemed to change form as she maneuvered. She was a tiger, a gazelle, a bear, a falcon. Or perhaps that was just my fevered brain. Zoë shot arrows at her father, aiming for the chinks in his armor. He roared in pain each time one found its mark, but they affected him like bee stings. He just got madder and kept fighting.

Thalia and Luke went spear on sword, lightning still flashing around them. Thalia pressed Luke back with the aura of her shield. Even he was not immune to it. He retreated, wincing and growling in frustration.

"Yield!" Thalia yelled. "You never could beat me, Luke."

He bared his teeth. "We'll see, my old friend."

Sweat poured down my face. My hands were slippery. My shoulders would've screamed with agony if they could. I felt like the vertebrae in my spine were being welded together by a blowtorch.

Atlas advanced, pressing Artemis. She was fast, but his strength was unstoppable. His javelin slammed into the earth where Artemis has been a split second before, and a fissure opened in the rocks. He leaped over it and kept pursuing her. She was leading him back toward me.

 _Get ready, daughter of Poseidon_ , she spoke in my mind.

I was losing the ability to think through the pain. My response was something like _Agggghh-owwwwwwww_.

"You fight well for a girl." Atlas laughed. "But you are no match for me."

He feinted with the tip of his javelin and Artemis dodged. I saw the trick coming. Atlas's javelin swept around and knocked Artemis's legs off the ground. She fell, and Atlas brought up his javelin tip for the kill.

"No!" Zoë screamed. She leaped between her father and Artemis and shot an arrow straight into the Titan's forehead, where it ledged like a unicorn's horn. Atlas bellowed in rage. He swept aside his daughter with the back of his hand, sending her flying into the black rocks.

I wanted to shout her name, run to her aid, but I couldn't speak or move. I couldn't even see where Zoë has landed. Then Atlas turned on Artemis with a look of triumph in his face. Artemis seemed to be wounded. She didn't get up.

"The first blood in a new war," Atlas gloated. And he stabbed downward.

As fast as thought, Artemis grabbed his javelin shaft. It hit the earth right next to her and she pulled backward, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the Titan Lord and sending him flying over her. I saw him coming down on top of me and I realized what would happen. I loosened my grip on the sky, and as Atlas slammed into me I didn't try to hold on. I let myself be pushed out of the way and rolled for all I was worth.

The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas's back, almost smashing him flat until he managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too late.

" _Noooooo!_ " He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. " _Not again!_ "

Atlas was trapped under his old burden.

I tried to stand and fell back again, dazed from pain. My body felt like it was burning up.

"Perci!" I heard Anthony cry out.

I managed to look ahead and I found he has freed himself from his bonds as he stumbled his way to me. He lifted my head up and smothered my hair off my forehead, his face filled with concern.

"You always do the stupidest things, Perci." He said, trying to sound angry.

I managed a smile as I panted heavily.

I saw Thalia back Luke to the edge of a cliff, but still they fought on, next to the golden coffin. Thalia had tears in her eyes. Luke had a bloody slash across his chest and his pale face glistened with sweat.

He lunged at Thalia and she slammed him with her shield. Luke's sword spun out of his hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point to his throat.

For a moment, there was silence.

"Well?" Luke asked. He tried to hide it, but I could hear fear in his voice.

Thalia trembled with fury.

"Don't kill him!" Anthony shouted to Thalia. I was too tired to say anything while he continued holding me up with his arms.

"He's a traitor," Thalia said. "A traitor!"

In my daze, I realized that Artemis was no longer nearby. She had run off toward the black rocks where Zoë had fallen.

"We'll bring Luke back," Anthony pleaded. "To Olympus. He...he'll be useful."

"Is that what you want, Thalia?" Luke sneered. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To please your dad?"

Thalia hesitated, and Luke made a desperate grab for her spear.

"No!" Anthony shouted. But it was too late. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Luke away. He lost his balance, terror on his face, and then he fell.

"Luke!" Anthony screamed.

He quickly helped me up before we rushed to the cliff's edge. Below us, the army from the _Princess Andromeda_ had stopped in amazement. They were staring at Luke's broken form on the rocks. Despite how much I hated him, I couldn't stand to see it. I wanted to believe he was still alive, but that was impossible. The fall was fifty feet at least, and he wasn't moving.

One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"

Thalia was stiff with grief, tears streaming down her cheeks. I pulled her back as a wave of javelins sailed over our heads. We ran for the rocks, ignoring the curses and threats of Altas as we passed.

"Artemis!" I yelled.

The goddess looked up, her face almost as grief-stricken as Thalia's. Zoë lay in the goddess's arms. She was breathing. Her eyes were open. But still…

"The wound is poisoned," Artemis said.

"Atlas poisoned her?" I asked.

"No," the goddess said. "Not Altas."

She showed us the wound in Zoë's side. I'd almost forgotten her scrape with Ladon the dragon. The bite was much worse than Zoë had let on. I could barely look at the wound. She had charged into battle against her father with a horrible cut already sapping her strength.

"The stars," Zoë murmured. "I cannot see them."

I then realized my backpack was gone. "Nectar and ambrosia," I said. "Come on! We have to get her some."

No one moved. Grief hung in air. The army of Kronos was just below the rise. Even Artemis was too shocked to stir. We might've met our doom right there, but then I heard a strange buzzing noise.

Just as the army of monsters came over the hill, a Sopwith Camel swooped down out of the sky.

"Get away from my son!" Dr. Chase called down, and his machine guns burst to life, peppering the ground with bullet holes and startling the whole group of monsters into scattering.

"Dad?" yelled Anthony in disbelief.

"Run!" he called back, his voice growing fainter as the biplane swooped by.

This shook Artemis out of her grief. She stared up at the antique plane, which was now banking around for another strafe.

"A brave man," Artemis said with grudging approval. "Come. We must get Zoë away from here."

She raised her hunting horn to her lips, and its clear sound echoed down the valleys of Marin. Zoë's eyes were fluttering.

"Hang in there!" I told her. "It'll be alright!"

The Sopwith Camel swooped down again. A few giants threw javelins, and one flew straight between the wings of the plane, but the machine guns blazed. I realized with amazement that somehow Dr. Chase must've gotten hold of celestial bronze to fashion his bullets. The first row of snake women wailed as the machine gun's volley blew them into sulfurous yellow powder.

"That's...my dad!" Anthony said with amazement.

We didn't have time to admire his flying. The giants and snake women were already recovering from their surprise. Dr. Chase would be in trouble soon.

Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn by the most beautiful deer I had ever seen. It landed right next to us.

"Get in," Artemis said.

Anthony helped me get Thalia on board. Then I helped Artemis with Zoë. We wrapped Zoë in a blanket as Artemis pulled the reins and the chariot sped away from the mountain, straight into the air.

"Like Santa Claus's sleigh," I murmured, still dazed with pain.

Artemis took time to look back at me. "Indeed, young half-blood. And where do you think that legend came from?"

Seeing us safely away, Dr. Chase turned his biplane and followed us like an honor guard. It must have been one of the strangest sights ever, even for a Bay Area: a silver flying chariot pulled by deer, escorted by a Sopwith Camel.

Behind us, the army of Kronos roared in anger as they gathered on the summit of Mount Tamalpais, but the loudest sound was the voice of Atlas, bellowing curses against the gods as he struggled under the weight of the sky.


	18. A Friend Says Goodbye

[A/N: OKAY, OKAY! Easy, easy with the expressive demands! Although I'm very happy that there are at least most people who love to read, just calm down. Don't worry, I'm not gonna discontinue; the Battle of the Labyrinth will be coming up soon. Don't expect it to be ready to ready in a blink of an eye and please be patient. Anyway, here's the rest of the last chapters of the Titan's Curse.]

 **Chapter 18**

A Friend Says Goodbye

We landed at Crissy Field after nightfall.

As soon as Dr. Chase stepped out of his Sopwith Camel, Anthony ran to him and gave him a huge hug. "Dad! You flew...you shot...oh my gods! That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!"

His father blushed. "Well, not bad for a middle-aged mortal, I suppose?"

"But the celestial bronze bullets! How did you _get_ those?"

"Ah, well. You did leave quite a few half-blood weapons in your room in Virgina, the last time you...left."

Anthony looked down, embarrassed, I noticed Dr. Chase was very careful not to say _run away_.

"I decided to try melting some down to make bullet casings," he continued. "Just a little experiment."

He said it like it was no big deal, but he had a gleam in his eye. I could understand all of a sudden why Athena, Goddess of Crafts and Wisdom, had taken a liking to him. He was an excellent mad scientist at heart.

"Dad…" Anthony faltered.

"Anthony, Perci," Thalia interrupted. Her voice was urgent. She and Artemis were kneeling at Zoë's side, biding the huntress's wounds.

Anthony and I ran over to help, but there wasn't much we could do. We had no ambrosia ot nectar. No regular medicine would help. It was dark, but I could see that Zoë didn't look good. She was shivering, and the faint glow that usually hung around her was fading.

"Can't you heal her with magic?" I asked Artemis. "I mean...you're a goddess."

Artemis looked troubled. "Life is a fragile thing, Persephone. If the Fates will the string to be cut, there is little I can do. But I can try."

She tried to set her hand on Zoë's side, but Zoë gripped her wrist. She looked into the goddess's eyes, and some kind of understanding passed between them.

"Have I...served thee well?" Zoë whispered.

"With great honor," Artemis said softly. "The finest of my attendants."

Zoë's face relaxed. "Rest. At last."

"I can try to heal the poison, my brave one."

But in that moment, I knew it wasn't just the poison that was killing her. It was her father's final blow. Zoë had known all along that the Oracle's prophecy was about her: she would die by a parent's hand. And yet she'd taken the quest anyway. She had chosen to save me, and Atlas's fury had broken her inside.

She saw Thalia, and took her hand.

"I am sorry we argued," Zoë said. "We could have been sisters."

"It's my fault," Thalia said, blinking hard. "You were right about Luke, about heroes, men-everything."

"Perhaps not all heroes," Zoë murmured. She smiled weakly at me and Anthony. "Do you still have the sword, Perci?"

I couldn't speak, but I brought out Riptide and put the pen in her hand. She grasped it contentedly. "You spoke the truth, Perci Jackson. You and your friend are nothing like...like Hercules. I am honored that you carry this sword."

A shudder ran through her body.

"Zoë-" I said.

"Stars," she whispered. "I can see the stars again, my lady."

A tear trickled down Artemis's cheek. "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight."

"Stars," Zoë repeated. Her eyes fixed on the night sky. And she did not move again.

Thalia lowered her head. Anthony gulped down a sob, and his father put his hands on his shoulders. I watched as Artemis cupped her hand above Zoë's mouth and spoke a few words in Ancient Greek. A silvery wisp of smoke exhaled from Zoë's lips and was caught in the hand of the goddess. Zoë's body shimmered and disappeared.

Artemis stood, said a kind of blessing, breathed into her cupped hand and released the silver dust to the sky. It flew up, sparkling, and vanished.

For a moment I didn't see anything different. Then Anthony gasped. Looking up in the sky, I saw that the stars were brighter now. They made a pattern I had never noticed before-a gleaming constellation that looked a lot like a girl's figure-a girl with a bow, running across the sky.

"Let the world honor you, my Huntress," Artemis said. "Live forever in the stars."

* * *

It wasn't easy saying goodbyes. The thunder and lightning were still boiling over Mount Tamalpais in the north. Artemis was so upset she flickered with silver light. This made me nervous, because if she suddenly lost control and appeared in her fully divine form, we would disintegrate by looking at her.

"I must go to Olympus immediately," Artemis said. "I will not be able to take you, but I will send help."

The goddess set her hand on my shoulder. "You and your male friend are both brave beyond measure, my girl. You two will do what is right."

Then she looked quizzically at Thalia, as if she weren't sure what to make of this younger daughter of Zeus. Thalia seemed reluctant to look up, but something made her, and she held the goddess's eyes. I wasn't sure what passed between them, but Artemis's gaze softened with sympathy. Then she turned back to me.

"You did well, Perci Jackson." she said.

I smiled and nodded.

She mounted her chariot, which began to glow. We averted our eyes. There was a flash of silver, and the goddess was gone.

"Well," Dr. Chase sighed. "She was impressive; though I must say I still prefer Athena."

Anthony turned toward him. "Dad, I...I'm sorry that-"

"Ahh." He hugged him with a little father-son neck hug. "Do what you must, sport. I know this isn't easy for you."

His voice was a little shaky, but he gave Anthony a brave smile.

Then I heard the whoosh of large wings. Three pegasi descended through the fog: two white winged horses and one pure black one.

"Twilight!" I called.

 _Hey, Perci!_ she called. _You managed to stay alive okay without me?_

"It was rough," I admitted.

 _I brought Guido and Porkpie with me_.

 _How ya doin?_ The other two pegasi spoke in my mind.

Twilight looked me over with concern, then checked out Dr. Chase, Thalia, and Anthony. _Any of these goons you want us to stampede?_

"Nah," I said aloud. "These are my friends. We need to get to Olympus pretty fast."

 _No problem_ , Twilight said. _Except for the mortal over there. Hope he's not going_.

I assured her Dr. Chase was not. The professor was staring openmouthed at the pegasi.

"Fascinating," he said. "Such maneuverability! How does the wingspan compensate for the weight of the horse's body, I wonder?"

Twilight cocked her head. _Whaaaat?_

"Why, if the British had had these pegasi in the cavalry charges on the Crimea," Dr. Chase said, "the charge of the light brigade-"

"Dad!" Anthony interrupted.

Dr. Chase blinked. He looked at his son and managed a smile. "I'm sorry, sport. I know you must go."

He gave him one last awkward, well-meaning hug. As he turned to climb aboard the pegasus Guido, Dr. Chase called, "Anthony. I know...I know San Francisco is a dangerous place for you. But please remember, you always have a home with us. We will keep you safe."

Anthony didn't answer, but his eyes were red as he turned away. Dr. Chase started to may more, then apparently thought better of it. He raised his hand in a sad farewell and trudged away across the dark field.

Thalia and Anthony and I mounted our pegasi. Together we soared over the bay and flew toward the eastern hills. Soon San Francisco was only a glittering crescent behind us, with an occasional flicker of lightning in the north.

* * *

Thalia was so exhausted she fell asleep on Porkpie's back. I knew she had to be really tired to sleep in the air, despite her fear of heights, but she didn't have much to worry about. Her pegasus flew with ease, adjusting himself every once in a while so Thalia stayed safely on his back.

Anthony and I flew along side by side.

"Your dad seems cool," I told him.

It was too dark to see his expression. He looked back, even though California was far behind us now.

"I guess so," he said. "We've been arguing for so many years."

"Yeah, you said."

"You think I was lying about that?" It sounded like a challenge, but a pretty halfhearted one, like he was asking it of himself.

"I didn't say you were lying. It's just...he seems okay. Your stepmom, too. Maybe they've, uh, gotten cooler since you saw them last."

He hesitated. "They're still in San Francisco, Perci. I can't live so far from camp."

I didn't want to ask my next question. I was scared to know the answer. But I asked it anyway. "So what are you going to do now?"

We flew over a town, an island of lights in the middle of the dark. It whisked by so fast we might've been in an airplane.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But thank you for rescuing me."

"Hey, no big deal. We're friends."

"You didn't believe I was dead?"

"Never."

He hesitated. "Neither is Luke, you know. I mean...he isn't dead."

I stared at him. I didn't know if he was cracking under the stress or what. "Anthony, that fall was pretty bad. There's no way-"

"He isn't dead," he insisted. "I know it. The same way you knew about me."

That comparison didn't make me too happy.

The towns were zipping by faster now, islands of light thicker together, until the whole landscape below was a glittering carpet. Dawn was close. The eastern sky was turning gray. And up ahead, a huge white-and-yellow glow spread out before us-the lights of New York.

 _How's that for speedy, Perci?_ Twilight bragged. _We get extra hay for breakfast or what?_

"You're the horse, Twilight." I told her.

"You don't believe me about Luke," Anthony said, "but we'll see him again. He's in trouble, Perci. He's under Kronos's spell."

I didn't feel like arguing, though it made me mad. How could he still have any feelings for that creep? How could he possibly make excuses for him? He deserved that fall. He deserved..okay, I'll say it. He deserved to die. Unlike Bianca. Unlike Zoë. Luke couldn't be alive. It wouldn't be fair.

"There it is." Thalia voice; she'd woken up. She was pointing toward Manhattan, which was quickly zooming into view. "It's started."

"What's started?" I asked.

Then I looked where she was pointing. High above the Empire State Building, Olympus was its own island of light, a floating mountain ablaze with torches and braziers, white marble palaces gleaming in the early morning air.

"The winter solstice," Thalia said. "The Council of the Gods."


	19. The Gods Vote How to Kill Us

**Chapter 19**

The Gods Vote How to Kill Us

Flying was bad enough for a daughter of Poseidon, but flying straight up to Zeus's palace, with thunder and lightning swirling around it, was even worse.

We circled over midtown Manhattan, making one complete orbit around Mount Olympus. I'd only been there once before, traveling by elevator up to the secret omega floor of the Empire State Building. This time, if it was possible, Olympus amazed me even more.

In the early-morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colors, from bloodred to indigo. Apparently no one ever slept on Olympus. The twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by Cyclopes. Winter didn't seem to exit here. I caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things I couldn't name. Music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes.

Towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the gods.

Or pegasi set us down in the outer courtyard, in front of huge silver gates. Before I could even think to knock, the gates opened by themselves.

 _Good luck_ , Twilight said.

"Yeah." I didn't know why, but I had a sense of doom. I'd never seen all the gods together. I knew any one of them could blast me to dust, and a few of them would like to.

 _Hey, if you don't come back, can I have your cabin for my stable?_

I looked at the pegasus.

 _Just a thought_ , she said. _Sorry_.

Twilight and her flew off, leaving Thalia, Anthony, and me alone. For a minute we stood there regarding the palace, the way we'd stood together in front of Westover Hall, what seemed like a million years ago.

And then, side by side, we walked into the throne room.

* * *

Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. The ceiling above glittered with constellations-even the newest one, Zoë the Huntress, making her way across the heavens with her bow drawn.

All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall, and I'm telling you, if you've ever had a dozen all-powerful super-huge beings turn their eyes on you at once...Well, suddenly, facing monsters seemed like a picnic.

"Welcome, heroes," Artemis said.

"Mooo!"

That's when I noticed Justin and Gretel.

A sphere of water was hovering in the center of the room, next to the hearth fire. Justin was swimming happily around, swishing his serpent tail and poking his head out the sides and bottom of the sphere. He seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble. Gretel was kneeling at Zeus's throne, as if she's just been giving a report, but when she saw us, she cried, "You made it!"

She started to run towards me, then remembered she was turning her back on Zeus, and looked for permission.

"Go on." Zeus said. But he wasn't really paying attention to Gretel. The lord of the sky was staring intently at Thalia.

Gretel skipped over. None of the gods spoke. Every step of Gretel's soil feet echoed like moshes of potatoes. Justin splashed in her bubble of water. The hearth fire crackled.

I looked nervously at my father, Poseidon. He was dressed similar to the last time I'd seen him: beach shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and sandals. He had a weathered, suntanned face with a dark beard and deep green eyes. I wasn't sure how he would feel about seeing me again, but the corners of his eyes crinkled with smile lines. He nodded as if to say _It's okay_.

Gretel gave Anthony and Thalia bug hugs. Then she grasped my arms. "Perci, Justin and I made it! But you have to convince them! They can't do it!"

"Do what?" I asked.

"Heroes," Artemis called.

The goddess slid down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburn-haired girl, perfectly at ease in the midst of the giant Olympians. She walked towards us, her silver robes shimmering. There was no emotion in her face. She seemed to walk in a column of moonlight.

"The Council has been informed of your deeds," Artemis told us. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas's attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act."

There was some mumbling and shuffling among the gods, as if they weren't all happy with this plan, but nobody protested.

"At my Lord Zeus's command," Artemis said, "my brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titans' cause. Lady Athena shall personally check on the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship _Princess Andromeda_ and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes…"

She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service. Would any here deny that?"

She looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually. Zeus in his dark pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. Next to him sat a beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colors like peacock feathers. The Lady Hera.

On Zeus's right, my father Poseidon. Next to him, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of the Forges, Hephaestus.

Hermes winked at me. He was wearing a business suit today, checking messages on his caduceus mobile phone. Apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod headphones on, so I wasn't sure he was even listening, but he gave me a thumbs-up. Dionysus looked bored, twirling a grape vine between his fingers. And Ares, well, he sat on his chrome-and-leather throne, glowering at me while he sharpened a knife.

On the ladies' side of the throne room, a dark-haired goddess in green robes sat next to Hera on a throne woven of apple-tree branches. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. Next to her sat a beautiful gray-eyed woman in an elegant white dress. She could only be Anthony's mother, Athena. Then there was Aphrodite, who smiled at me knowingly.

All the Olympians in one place. So much power in this room it was a miracle the whole palace didn't blow apart.

"I gotta say"-Apollo broke the silence-"these kids did okay." He cleared his throat and began to recite: " _Heroes win laurels_ -"

"Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, like he was anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry. "All in favor of not disintegrating them?"

A few tentative hands went up-Demeter, Aphrodite.

"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia and ma. "These two are dangerous. It'd be much safer, while we've got them here-"

"Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "they are worthy heroes. We will not blast my daughter to bits."

"Nor mine," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well."

Thalia blushed. She studied the floor. I knew how she felt. I'd hardly ever talked to my father, much less gotten a compliment.

The goddess Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "I am proud of my son as well. But there is a security risk here with the other two."

"Mother!" Anthony said. "How can you-"

Athena cut him off with a calm but firm look. "It is unfortunate that my father, Zeus, and my uncle, Poseidon, chose to break their oath not to have more children. Only Hades kept his word, a fact that I find ironic. As we know from the Great Prophecy, children of the three elder gods...such as Thalia and Perci...are dangerous. As thick-headed as he is, Ares has a point."

"Right!" Ares said. "Hey, wait a minute. Who you callin'-"

He started to get up, but a grape vine grew around his waist like a seat belt and pulled him back down.

"Oh, please, Ares," Dionysus sighed. "Save the fighting for later."

Ares cursed and ripped away the vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. You seriously want to protect these brats?"

Dionysus gazed down at us wearily. "I have no love for them. Athena, do you truly think it safest to destroy them?"

"I do not pass judgement," Athena said. "I only point out the risk. What we do, the Council must decide."

"I will not have them punished," Artemis said. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it."

"Calm down, sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up."

"Don't call me _sis_! I will reward them."

"Well," Zeus grumbled. "Perhaps. But the monster at least must be destroyed. We have agreement on that?"

A lot of nodding heads.

It took me a second to realize what they were saying. Then my heart turned to lead. "Justin? You want to destroy Justin?"

"Mooooooo!" Justin protested.

My father frowned. "You have named the Ophiotaurus Justin?"

"Dad," I said, "he's just a sea creature. A really _nice_ sea creature. You can't destroy him."

Poseidon shifted uncomfortably. "Perci, the monster's power is considerable. If the Titans were to steal it, or-"

"You can't," I insisted. I looked at Zeus. I probably should have been afraid of him, but I stared him right in the eye. "Controlling the prophecies never works. Isn't that true? Besides, Just- the Ophiotaurus is innocent. Killing something like that is wrong. It's just as wrong as...as Kronos eating his children, just because of something that _might_ do. It's wrong!"

Zeus seemed to consider this. His eyes drifted to his daughter Thalia. "And what of the risk? Kronos knows full well, if one of you were to sacrifice the beast's entrails, you would have the power to destroy us. Do you think we can let that possibility remain? You, my daughter, will turn sixteen on the morrow, just as the prophecy says."

"You have to trust them," Anthony spoke up. "Sir, you have to trust them."

Zeus scowled. "Trust a hero?"

"Anthony is right," Artemis said. "Which is why I must first make a reward. My faithful companion, Zoë Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one. But first, Father Zeus, I must speak to you privately."

Zeus beckoned Artemis forward. He leaned down and listened as she spoke in his ear.

I saw Anthony seize up a little in panic. "Perci," he said under his breath. "Don't."

I frowned at him. "What?"

"Look, I need to tell you something," he continued. The words came stumbling out of him, and he looked like he was gonna throw up. "I couldn't stand it if...I don't want you to-"

"Anthony?" I said. "You look like you're going to be sick."

I suddenly realized that he thought I was gonna be chosen as Artemis's new lieutenant of the Hunt. It had almost forgotten that he discovered the brochure in my backpack before we left for Westover Hall, and he assumed I noticed and read it, but I hadn't noticed it one bit until Gretel told me everything. And then Artemis turned.

"I shall have a new lieutenant," she announced. "If she will accept it."

"No," Anthony murmured.

"Thalia," Artemis said. "Daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?"

Stunned silence filled the room. I stared at Thalia, unable to believe what I was hearing. Anthony smiled in relief. He squeezed Thalia's hand and let it go, as if he'd been expecting this all along.

"I will," Thalia said firmly.

Zeus rose, his eyes full of concern. "My daughter, consider well-"

"Father," she said. "I will not turn sixteen tomorrow. I will never turn sixteen. I won't let this prophecy be mine. I stand with my sister Artemis. Kronos will never tempt me again."

She knelt before the goddess and began the words I remembered from Bianca's oath, what seemed like so long ago. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men…"

* * *

Afterward, Thalia came over to me, smiled, and she gave me a big hug.

She pulled away and gripped my shoulders. "Um...what about Anthony? Aren't you not supposed to do that anymore to him, I mean?" I said.

"I'm honoring my friends," she corrected. "I _must_ join the Hunt, Perci. I haven't known peace since...since Half-Blood Hill. I finally feel like I have a home, after you and your mother cared for me since then. But you're a hero. You will be the one of the prophecy."

"Great," I muttered.

"I'm proud to be your friend, and when you see your mom, tell her I said thank you for being the mother I wish I had."

She hugged Anthony, who was feeling really happy for her. Then she even hugged Gretel, who was also looking happy, like somebody had just given her an all-you-can-eat enchilada coupon.

Then Thalia went to stand by Artemis's side.

"Now for the Ophiotaurus," Artemis said.

"This girl is still dangerous," Dionysus warned. "The beast is a temptation to great power. Even if we spare the girl-"

"No." I looked around at all the gods. "Please. Keep the Ophiotaurus safe. My dad can hide him under the sea somewhere, or keep him in an aquarium here in Olympus. But you have to protect him."

"And why should we trust you?" rumbled Hephaestus.

"I'm only fourteen," I said. "If this prophecy is about me, that's two more years."

"Two years for Kronos to deceive you," Athena said. "Much can change in two years, my young hero."

"Mother!" Anthony said, exasperated.

"It is only the truth, child. It is bad strategy to keep the animal alive. Or the girl."

My father stood. "I will not have a sea creature destroyed, if I can help it. And I _can_ help it."

He held out his hand, and a trident appeared in it: a twenty foot long bronze shaft with three spear tips that shimmered with blue, watery light. "I will vouch for the girl and the safety of the Ophiotaurus."

"You won't take it under the sea!" Zeus stood suddenly. "I won't have that kind of bargaining chip in your possession."

"Brother please," Poseidon sighed.

Zeus's lightning bolt appeared in his hand, a shaft of electricity that filled the whole room with the smell of ozone.

"Fine," Poseidon said. "I will build an aquarium for the creature here. Hephaestus can help me. The creature will be safe. We shall protect it with all our powers. The girl will not betray us. I vouch for this on my honor."

Zeus thought about this. "All in favor?"

To my surprise, a lot of hands went up. Dionysus abstained. So did Ares and Athena. But everybody else…

"We have a majority," Zeus decreed. "And so, since we will not be destroying these heroes...I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!"

* * *

There are parties, and then there are huge, major, blowout parties. And then there are Olympian parties. If you ever get a choice, go for the Olympian.

The Nine Muses cranked up the tunes, and I realized the music was whatever you wanted it to be: the gods could listen to classical and the younger demigods heard hip-hop or whatever, and it was all the same soundtrack. No arguments. No fights to change the radio station. Just requests to crank it up.

Dionysus went around growing refreshment stands out of the ground, and a beautiful woman walked with him arm in arm-his wife, Ariadne. Dionysus looked happy for the first time. Nectar and ambrosia overflowed from golden fountains, and platters of mortal snack food crowded the banquet tables. Golden goblets filled with whatever drink you wanted. Gretel skipped with a full plate of apples and enchiladas, and her goblet was full of double-espresso latte, which she kept muttering over like an incantation: "Pan! Pan!"

Gods kept coming over to congratulate me. Thankfully, that had reduced themselves to human size, so they didn't accidentally trample partygoers under their feet. Hermes started chatting with me, and he was so cheerful I hated to tell him what had happened to his least-favorite son, Luke, but before I could even get up the courage, Hermes got a call on his caduceus and walked away.

Apollo told me I could drive his sun chariot any time, and if I ever wanted archery lessons-

"Thanks," I told him. "But seriously, I'm no good at archery."

"Ah, nonsense," he said. "Target practice from the chariot as we fly over the U.S.? Best fun there is!"

I made some excuses and wove through the crowds that were dancing in the palace courtyards. I was looking for Anthony. Last I saw him, he'd been dancing with some minor godling.

Then a man's voice behind me said, "You won't let me down, I hope."

I turned and found Poseidon smiling at me.

"Dad...hi."

"Hello, Perci. You've done well."

His praise made me uneasy. I mean, if felt good, but I knew just how much he'd put himself on the line, vouching for me. It would've been a lot easier to let the others disintegrate me.

"I won't let you down," I promised.

He nodded. I had trouble reading gods' emotions, but I wondered if her had some doubts.

"Your friend Luke-"

"He's not my friend," I blurted out. Then I realized it was probably rude to interrupt. "Sorry."

"Your _former_ friend Luke," Poseidon corrected. "He once promised things like that. He was Hermes's pride and joy. Just bear that in mind, Perci. Even the bravest can fall."

"Luke fell pretty hard," I agreed. "He's dead."

Poseidon shook his head. "No, Perci. He is not."

I stared at him. "What?"

"I believe Anthony told you this. Luke still lives. I have seen it. His boat sails from San Francisco with the remains of Kronos even now. He will retreat and regroup before assaulting you again. I will do my best to destroy his boat with storms, but he is making alliances with my enemies, the older spirits of the ocean. They will fight to protect him."

"How can he be alive?" I said. "That fall should've killed him!"

Poseidon looked troubled. "I don't know, Perci, but beware of him. He is more dangerous than ever. And the golden coffin is still with him, still growing in strength."

"What about Atlas?" I said. "What's to prevent him from escaping again? Couldn't he just force some giant or something to take the sky for him?"

My father snorted in derision. "If it were so easy, he would have escaped long ago. No, my daughter. The curse of the sky can only be forced upon a Titan, one of the children of Gaia and Ouranos. Anyone else must _choose_ to take the burden of their own free will. Only a hero, someone with strength, a true heart, and great courage, would do such a thing. No one in Kronos's army would dare try to bear that weight, even upon pain of death."

"Luke did it," I said. "He let Atlas go. Then he tricked Anthony into saving him and used him to convince Artemis to take the sky, because she cared for me."

"Yes," Poseidon said. "Luke is...an interesting case."

I think he wanted to say more, but just then, Justin started mooing from across the courtyard. Some demigods were playing with his water sphere, joyously pushing it back and forth over the top of the crowd.

"I'd better take care of that," Poseidon grumbled. "We can't have the Ophiotaurus tossed around like a beach ball. Be good, my daughter. We may not speak again for some time."

And just like that he was gone.

I was about the keep searching the crowd when another voice spoke. "Your father takes a great risk, you know."

I found myself face-to-face with a gray-eyed woman who looked so much like Anthony I almost called her that.

"Athena." I tried not to sound resentful, after the way she'd written me off in the council, but I guess I didn't hide it very well.

She smiled dryly. "Do not judge me too harshly, half-blood. Wise counsel is not always popular, but I spoke the truth. You are dangerous."

"You never take risks?"

She nodded. "I concede the point. You may perhaps be useful. And yet...your fatal flaw may destroy us as well as yourself."

My heart crept into my throat. A year ago, Anthony and I had had a talk about fatal flaws. Every hero had one. Hers, he said, was pride. He believed he could do anything...like holding up the world, for instance. Or saving Luke. But I didn't really know what mine was.

Athena looked almost sorry for me. "Kronos knows your flaw, even if you do not. He knows how to study his enemies. Think, Perci. How has he manipulated you? First, your mother was taken from you. Then your best friend, Gretel. Now my son, Anthony." He paused, disapproving. "In each case, your loved ones have been used to lure you into Kronos's traps. Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, Perci. You do not know when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world. In a hero of the prophecy, that is very, very dangerous."

I balled my fists. "That's not a flaw. Just because I want to help my friends-"

"The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation," she said. "Evil is easy to fight. Lock of wisdom...that is very hard indeed."

I wanted to argue, but I found I couldn't Athena was pretty darn smart.

"I hope the Council's decisions prove wise," Athena said. "But I will be watching Perci Jackson. I do not approve of your friendship with my son. I do not think it wise for either of you. And should you begin to waver in your loyalties…"

She fixed me with her cold gray stare, and I realized what a terrible enemy Athena would make, ten time worse than Ares or Dionysus or maybe even my father. Athena would never give up. She would never do something rash or stupid just because she hated you, and if she made a plan to destroy you, it would not fail.

"Perci!" Anthony said, running through the crowd. He stopped short when he saw who I was talking to. "Oh...Mom?"

"I will leave you," Athena said. "For now."

She turned and strode through the crowds, which parted before her as if she were carrying Aegis.

* * *

"Was she giving you a hard time?" Anthony asked.

"No," I said. "It's...fine."

He studied me with concern. He touched the new streak of gray in my hair, next to my naturally blue hair streak, that matched his exactly-our painful souvenir from holding Atlas's burden. There was a lot I'd wanted to say to Anthony, but Athena had taken the confidence out of me. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.

 _I do not approve of your friendship with my son_.

"So," Anthony said. "What did you want to tell me earlier?"

The music was playing. People were dancing in the streets. I said, "I, uh, was thinking we got interrupted at Westover Hall. And...I think I owe you a dance."

Anthony smiled slowly and blushed. "Alright, Seaweed Brain."

So I took his hand, and I don't know what everybody else heard, but to me it sounded like a slow dance: a little sad, but maybe a little hopeful, too.


	20. I Get a New Enemy for Christmas

**Chapter 20**

I Get a New Enemy for Christmas

Before I left Olympus, I decided to make a few calls. It wasn't easy, but I finally found a quiet fountain in a corner garden and sent an Iris-message to my brother, Tyson, under the sea. I told him about our adventures, and Justin-he wanted to hear every detail about the cute baby cow serpent-and I assured him that Anthony was safe. Finally I got around to explaining how the shield he's made me last summer had been damaged in the manticore attack.

"Yay!" Tyson said. "That means it was good! It saved your life!"

"It sure did, big guy," I said. "But now it's ruined."

"Not ruined!" Tyson promised. "I will visit and fix it next summer."

The idea picked me up instantly. I guess I hadn't realized how much I missed having Tyson around.

"Seriously?" I asked. "They'll let you take time off?"

"Yes! I have made two thousand seven hundred and forty-one magic swords," Tyson said proudly, showing me the newest blade. "The boss says 'good work'! He will let me take the whole summer off. I will visit camp!"

We talked for a while about war preparations and our dad's fight with the old sea gods, and all the cool things we could do together next summer, but then Tyson's boss started yelling at him and he had to get back to work.

I dug out my last golden drachma and made one more Iris-message.

"Sally Jackson," I said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan."

The mist shimmered, and there was my mom at our kitchen table, laughing and holding hands with her friend Mr. Blowfish.

I felt so embarrassed, I was about to wave my hand through the mist and cut the connection, but before I could, my mom saw me.

Her eyes got wide. She let go of Mr. Blowfish's hand real quick. "Oh, Paul! You know what? I left my writing journal in the living room. Would you mind getting it for me?"

"Sure, Sally. No problem."

He left the room, and instantly my mom leaned toward the Iris-message. "Perci! Are you alright?"

"I'm, uh, fine. How's the writing seminar going?"

She pursued her lips. "It's fine. But that's not important. Tell me what's happened!"

I filled her in as quickly as I could. She sighed with relief when she heard that Anthony was safe.

"I knew you could do it!" she said. "I'm so proud."

"Yeah, well, I'd better let you get back to your homework."

"Perci, I...Paul and I-"

"Mom, are you happy?"

The question seemed to take her by surprise. She thought for a moment. "Yes. I really am, Perci. Being around him makes me happy."

"Then it's cool. Seriously. Don't worry about me."

The funny thing was, I meant it. Considering the quest I'd just had, maybe I should have been worried for my mom. I'd seen just how mean people could be to each other, like Hercules was to Zoë Nightshade, like Luke was to Thalia. I'd met Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, in person, and her powers sort of scared me worse than Ares. But seeing my mother laughing and smiling, after all the years she'd suffered with my nasty ex-stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, I couldn't help feeling happy for her.

"You promise not to call him Mr. Blowfish?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Well, maybe not to his face, anyway."

"Sally?" Mr. Blofis called from our living room. "You need the green binder or the red one?"

"I'd better go," she told me. "See you for Christmas?"

"Are you putting blue candy in my stocking?"

She smiled. "If you're not too old for that."

"I'm never too old for candy."

"I'll see you then."

She waved her hand across the mist. Her image disappeared, and I thought to myself that Thalia had been right, so many days ago at Westover Hall: my mom really was pretty cool.

* * *

Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. Friday before Christmas, but it was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue, Argus, the many-eyed security chief, picked up Anthony, Gretel, and me at the Empire State Building and ferried us back to camp through a light snowstorm. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted.

As we trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, I half expected to see Thalia there, waiting for us. But she wasn't. She was long gone with Artemis and the rest of the Hunters, off on their next adventure.

Chiron greeted us at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. Gretel went off with her satyr friends to spread the word about our strange encounter with the magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were all running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was.

Anthony and I sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers-Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers. Even Clarisse from the Ares cabin was there, back from her secretive scouting mission. I knew she must've had a difficult quest, because she didn't even try to pulverize me. She had a new scar on her chin, and her dirty blond hair had been cut short and ragged, like someone had attacked it with a pair of safety scissors.

"I got news," she mumbled uneasily. " _Bad_ news."

"I'll fill you in later," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Anthony!"

Anthony smiled at me gratefully, which made me look away.

For some strange reason, I found myself thinking about Hoover Dam, and the odd mortal girl I'd run into there, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I didn't know why, but her annoying comments kept coming back to me. _Do you always kill people when they blow their nose?_ I was only alive because so many people had helped me, even a random mortal girl like that. I'd never even explained to her who I am, nor about Anthony to her.

"Luke is alive," I said. "Anthony was right."

Anthony sat up. "How do you know?"

I tried not to feel annoyed by his interest. I told him what my dad had said about the _Princess Andromeda_.

"Well." Anthony shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "If the final battle does when Perci is sixteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out."

I had a feeling that when he said "figure something out," he meant "get Luke to change his ways," which annoyed me even more.

Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire in wheelchair, he looked really old. I mean...he _was_ really old, but he usually didn't look like it.

"Two years may seem like a long time," he said. "But it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Perci. But if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here."

"How do you know?" I asked. "Why would he care about camp?"

"Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply. "Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monsters...We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but-"

There was a knock on the door, and Nico di Angelo came huffing into the parlor, his cheeks bright red from the cold.

He was smiling, but he looked around anxiously. "Hey! Where's...where's my sister?"

Dead silence. I stared at Chiron. I couldn't believe nobody had told him yet. And then I realized why. They'd been waiting for us to appear, to tell Nico in person.

That was the last thing I wanted to do. But I owed it to Bianca.

"Hey, Nico," I got up from my comfortable chair. "Let's take a walk, okay? We need to talk."

* * *

He took the news in silence, which somehow made it worse. I kept talking, trying to explain how it had happened, how Bianca had sacrificed herself to save the quest. But I felt like I was only making things worse.

"She wanted you to have this." I brought out the little god figurine Bianca had found in the junkyard. Nico held it in his palm and stared at it.

We were standing at the dining pavilion, just where we'd last spoken before I went on the quest. The wind was bitter cold, even with the camp's magical weather protection. Snow fell lightly against the marble steps. I figured outside the camp borders, there must be a blizzard happening.

"You promised you would protect her," Nico said.

He might as well have stabbed me with a rusty dagger. It would've hurt less than reminding me of my promise.

"Nico," I said. "I'm so sorry, I tried. But Bianca gave herself up to save the rest of us. I told her not to. But she-"

"You promised!"

He glared at me, his eyes rimmed with red. He closed his small fist around the god statue.

"I shouldn't have trusted you." His voice broke. "You lied to me. My nightmares were right!"

"Wait. What nightmares?"

He flung the god statue to the ground. It clattered across the icy marble. "I hate you!"

"She might be alive," I said desperately. "I don't know for sure-"

"She's dead." He closed his eyes. His whole body trembled with rage. "I should've known it earlier. She's in the Fields of Asphodel, standing before the judges right now, being evaluated. I can feel it."

"What do you mean, you can feel it?"

Before he could answer, I heard a new sound behind me. A hissing, clattering noise I recognized all too well.

I drew my sword and Nico gasped. I whirled and found myself facing four skeleton warriors. They grinned fleshless grins and advanced with swords drawn. I wasn't sure how they'd made it inside the camp, but it didn't matter. I'd never get help in time.

"You're trying to kill me!" Nico screamed. "You brought these...these things?"

"No! I mean, yes, they followed me, but _no_! Nico, run. They can't be destroyed."

"I don't trust you!"

The first skeleton charge. I knocked aside its blade, but the other three kept coming. I sliced one in half, but immediately it began to knit back together. I knocked another's head off but it just kept fighting.

"Run, Nico!" I yelled. "Get help!"

"No!" He pressed his hands to his ears.

I couldn't fight four at once, not if they wouldn't die. I slashed, whirled, blocked, jabbed, but they just kept advancing. It was only a matter of seconds before the zombies overpowered me.

"No!" Nico shouted louder. " _Go away!_ "

The ground rumbled beneath me. The skeletons froze. I rolled out of the way just as a crack opened at the feet of the four warriors. The ground ripped apart like a snapping mouth. Flames erupted from the fissure, and the earth swallowed the skeletons in one loud _CRUNCH!_

Silence.

In the place where the skeletons had stood, a twenty-foot-long scar wove across the marble floor of the pavilion. Otherwise there was no sign of the warriors.

Awestruck, I looked to Nico. "How did you-"

"Go away!" he yelled. "I hate you! I wish you were dead!"

The ground didn't swallow _me_ up, but Nico ran down the steps, heading toward the woods. I started to follow but I slipped and fell to the icy steps. When I got up, I noticed what I'd slipped on.

I picked up the god statue Bianca had retrieved from the junkyard for Nico. _The only statue he didn't have_ , she'd said. A last gift from his sister.

I stared at it with dread, because now I understood why the face looked familiar. I'd seen it before.

It was a statue of Hades, Lord of the Dead.

* * *

Anthony and Gretel helped me search the woods for hours, but there was no sign of Nico di Angelo.

"We have to tell Chiron," Anthony said, out of breath.

"No," I said.

He and Gretel both stared at me.

"Um," Gretel said nervously, "what do you mean...no?"

I was still trying to figure out why I'd said that, but the words spilled out of me. "We can't let anyone know. I don't think anyone realizes that Nico is a-"

"A son of Hades," Anthony said. "Perci, do you have _any idea_ how serious this is? Even Hades broke the oath! This is horrible!"

"I don't think so," I said. "I don't think Hades broke the oath."

" _What?_ "

"He's their dad," I said, "but Bianca and Nico have been out of commission for a long time, since even before World War II."

"The Lotus Casino!" Gretel said, and she told Anthony about the conversations we'd had with Bianca on the quest. "She and Nico were stuck there for decades. They were born before the oath was made."

I nodded.

"But how did they get out?" Anthony protested.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Bianca said a lawyer came and got them and drove them to Westover Hall. I don't know who that could've been, or why. Maybe it's part of this Great Stirring thing. I don't think Nico understands who he is. But we can't go telling anyone. Not even Chiron. If the Olympians find out-"

"It might start them fighting among each other again," Anthony said. "That's the last thing we need."

Gretel looked worried. "But you can't hide things from the gods. Not forever."

"I don't need forever," I said. "Just two more years. Until I'm sixteen."

Anthony paled. "But, Perci, this means the prophecy might _not_ be about you. It might be about Nico. We have to-"

"No," I said. "I choose the prophecy. It will be about me."

"Why are you saying that?" he cried. "You want to be responsible for the whole world?"

It was the last thing I wanted, but I didn't say that. I knew I had to step up and claim it.

"I can't let Nico be in any more danger," I said. "I owe that much to his sister. I...let them both down. I'm not going to let that poor kid suffer any more."

"The poor kid who hates you and wants to see you dead," Gretel reminded me.

"Maybe we can find him," I said. "We can convince him it's okay, hide him someplace safe."

Anthony shivered. "If Luke gets hold of him-"

"Luke won't," I said. "I'll make sure he's got other things to worry about. Namely, me."

* * *

I wasn't sure Chiron believed the story Anthony and I told him. I think he could tell I was holding something back about Nico's disappearance, but in the end, he accepted it. Unfortunately, Nico wasn't the first half-blood to disappear.

"So young," Chiron sighed, his hands on the rail of the front porch. "Alas, I hope he was eaten by monsters. Much better than being recruited into the Titans' army."

That idea made me really uneasy. I almost changed my mind about telling Chiron, but I didn't.

"You really think the first attack will be here?" I asked.

Chiron stared at the snow falling on the hills. I could see smoke from the dragon guardian at the pine tree, the glitter of the distant Fleece.

"It will not be until summer, at least," Chiron said. "This winter will be hard...the hardest for many centuries. It's best that you go home to the city, Perci; try to keep your mind on school. And rest. You will need rest."

I looked at Anthony. "What about you?"

His cheeks flushed. "I'm going to try San Francisco after all. Maybe I can keep an eye on Mount Tam, make sure the Titans don't try anything else."

"You'll send an Iris-message if anything goes wrong?"

He nodded. "But I think Chiron's right. It won't be until the summer. Luke will need time to regain his strength."

I didn't like the idea of waiting. Then again, next August I would be turning fifteen. So close to sixteen I didn't even want to think about it.

"Alright," I said. "Just take care of yourself. And no crazy stunts in the Sopwith Camel."

He smiled tentatively. "Deal. And, Perci-"

Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by Gretel, who stumbled out of the Big House, tripping over fruits. Her face was haggard and pale, like she'd seen a specter.

"He spoke!" Gretel cried.

"Calm down, my young dryad," Chiron said, frowning. "What is the matter?"

"I...I was singing in the parlor," she stammered, "and drinking coffee. Lots and lots of coffee! And he spoke in my mind!"

"Who?" Anthony demanded.

"Pan!" Gretel wailed. "The Lord of the Wild himself. I heard him! I have to...I have to find a suitcase."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said. "What did he say?"

Gretel stared at me. "Just three words. He said, ' _I await you_.'"


End file.
